Excretion: The Urinary
System
Constant internal environment
FYI
Identify - give the name of or refer to by
name
Explain - State the how and why or give
reason for
Relate - associate: make a logical
connection
Determine – come to a decision about or
arrive at a conclusion
Evaluate - to assess the structure or
component or examine and judge
carefully, based on evidence (in this case
from text/class session)
At the end of the session (s) you
should be able to:
Identify the different parts of the Urinary
System
Explain the role of each part in
homeostasis (excretion & osmoregulation)
Relate the structure of the nephron to its
overall function – the functional unit
Determine the composition of the urine
Evaluate the functioning parts of the
nephron
Determine what selective reabsorption is,
where it occurs and what substances are
reabsorbed
Things to note
Homeostasis – Means ‘Staying the same’
stability of the internal environment of the body
Tissue fluid in the body kept constant – concentration,
temperature, acidity are adjusted all the time to prevent
big changes
Why???
What will happen if tissue fluid is too
concentrated or too diluted?
osmosis dehydration
osmosis water-retention
Things to note
The body gains water from: food &
drinks
Water lost by: urination, defecation,
exhalation
Osmoregulation – the regulatory
process that keeps the blood at a
steady concentration
Gross Structure - Urinary System
Kidneys – solid oval
structures
Blood supply – Renal Artery,
branch off the aorta, brings
oxygenated blood. The Renal
Vein takes deoxygenated
blood away
Ureters – 2 tube running from
kidney to the bladder
Bladder – stores urine
Urethra - the tube that carries
urine from the bladder out of
the body
The Kidney
You only need a single kidney
10 centimetres (4 inches) long
Back of the body behind the lower
ribs
A healthy kidney is a filtering
system, main function not urine
production
Made up of about a million filtering
units called nephrons.
Summary of Function
Excrete waste products
Balances the body's fluid content
Keep nutrients at a balance
Maintain electrolytes & acid balance
Produces the hormone Erythropoietin to
help make red blood cells
Activates vitamin D to maintain healthy
bones
lla
du
is
Me
Pelv
ex
C o rt
Ureter
Longitudinal Section of Kidney
showing different regions
lla
du
Me
ex
C o rt
Ureter
Longitudinal Section of Kidney
showing different regions
rte
x Location & Position of Nephron
la
Co
ul
ed
M
proximal
convoluted tubule
distal convoluted
Arterioles from renal tubule
arteries
Glomerulus
surrounded by the
bowman’s
capsule
capillaries
Collecting
duct
Structure of the Nephron
Structure of the Nephron
The Nephron is a
single:
Glomerulus
Bowman’s Capsule
Renal Tubule
Blood Capillaries
Structure of Nephron – cont’d
Glomerulus - The cluster of blood vessels
Bowman's capsule - a hollow structure
surrounding glomerulus
Renal Corpuscle - The glomerulus and
Bowman's capsule together
Bowman's capsule leads into the U-shaped
tubule that empties into a collecting duct
The collecting ducts of all nephrons merge
together, emptying into the ureters
How the Nephron Works
Three (3) basic mechanisms for
separating the various components
of the blood:
Filtration
(ultra-filtration)
Reabsorption (selective-reabsorption)
Secretion
These three processes occur in the
nephron
How the Nephron Works – cont’d
Capillary-glomerulus
Bowman’s capsule
The blood pressure in the glomerulus causes
part of the blood plasma to leak through the
How the Nephron Works
Blood flowing through
glomerulus under pressure, due
to pressure of blood in the renal
branch of the artery:
filters
substances too large like
proteins and cells, will not pass
through the membrane channels,
from the blood – these remain in the
blood
How the Nephron Works
Smaller particles: ions, sugars, urea &
ammonia pass through the membranes of
the glomerulus into Bowman's capsule
These smaller components in the same
concentrations as they have been in the
blood
The fluid entering the Bowman’s
capsule is identical to blood, except
there are no proteins or cells.
How the Nephron Works – cont’d
Substances too large like proteins and cells, will not
pass through the membrane channels, from the blood
Small blood components enter the bowman’s capsule in the
same concentrations as they have been in the blood
The filtrate entering the tubule is identical to the blood, except
that it contains no proteins or cells
How the Nephron works - Info
Filtersapprox. 180 litres of filtrate per day!
Heart failure - decreases blood pressure
preventing filtration occuring
oedema – water-retention
Filtration
is dependent on size of
substances
useful compounds are filtered out of the blood with
waste products and toxins
How the Nephron Works – cont’d
Not all the filtrate becomes urine
Adult urine production - 1-2 litres per day
Much of the filtrate is reabsorbed
All the glucose, most of the water,
some salts are reabsorbed back into the
blood in the nearby capillaries and tissue
fluid around nephron
How the Nephron Works – reabsorption
How the Nephron Works – cont’d
The surrounding capillaries absorb
from the filtrate moving down the
tubules, substances the body
needs in to the blood
Process of absorbing back into the
blood - Selective-Reabsorption
Salts, Uric acid and urea are left to
pass through the tubule into the
collecting duct
Resulting fluid is referred to as
urine
Urine
The collecting ducts from different
nephrons combine and feed into the ureter
The ureters (one from each kidney) enter
the bladder, which leads to the urethra
Liquid waste is expelled from the body.
Urine
Urine volume is controlled
Maintain correct water balance
Anti-diuretic hormone
Effects of excessive perspiration or lack
of water on urine volume and
concentration
Concentration of the Blood &
Urine
Due to lots of sweating Loss of water
reduced
Changes in blood concentration
detected by brain - Hypothalamus
more concentrated Urine
Pituitary Gland
Kidney tubules
Secretes
absorbs more
Antidiuretic
water from
Hormone (ADH)
glomerulus
filtrate back into
the blood
NEGATIVE FEEDBACK MECHANISM
Hypothalamus
Rise in level ADH instruct Kidney
to reabsorb little
Normal Normal
Low level ADH instruct kidney
to reabsorb more
Hypothalamus
In the End - Products
Table 1: Relative Composition of Plasma and
Urine in Normal Men
Plasma Urine Concentration
g/100 ml g/100 ml in urine
Water 90-93 95 --
Protein 7-8.5 -- --
Urea 0.03 2 X60
Uric acid 0.002 0.03 X15
Glucose 0.1 -- --
Creatinine 0.001 0.1 X100
Sodium 0.32 0.6 X2
Potassium 0.02 0.15 X7
Calcium 0.01 0.015 X1.5
Magnesium 0.0025 0.01 X4
Chloride 0.37 0.6 X2
Phosphate 0.003 0.12 X40
Sulfate 0.003 0.18 X60
Ammonia 0.0001 0.05 X500
The Skin
The skin consists of two principal layers, the inner thicker dermis, and the outer
thinner epidermis.
The epidermis consists of two layers, the horny layer and the Malpighian layer
The horny layer consists of flattened, dead cells, which are continually sloughed
off.
The Malpighian layer consists of actively growing cells, which are continually
undergoing binary fission forming new layers of epithelial cells. These cells are
pushed upwards, becoming increasingly flattened, and are made hard by a
secretion of a fibrous protein, keratin.
The cells eventually die, forming the horny layer.
Skin continues
The dermis is composed of connective tissue, and contains blood capillaries,
nerves and nerve endings, and other structures.
Hairs grow from hair follicles, which are situated in pockets of the epidermis.
At the bottom of each follicle is connective tissue forming a hair root; the cells in
the connective tissue multiply, producing a hair shaft.
The cells are hardened by keratin, and eventually die, forming a compact shaft of
hair.
Hairs are shed by falling out, and replaced by new growths.
This shedding and replacement is less common in man than in other mammals
Skin continues
The hairs are connected to erector muscles, which, when contracted, raise
the hair to an upright position.
Associated with each hair follicle, and also found on other parts of the skin,
are sebaceous glands.
These glands secrete sebum, an oily liquid, on to the hair and also on to the
skin.
In the dermis are situated nerve endings which are connected to nerve
fibres (see coordination and control
A network of blood capillaries extends through the dermis.
Clusters of fat cells lie just below the dermis in a layer of connective tissue.
Figure 8: Section of Skin
2007
Numerous sweat glands are scattered throughout the dermis over
the body; they are more numerous in some parts of the skin than in
others.
Each gland consists of a long, coiled tube, with secretory cells lining
the tube.
The coiled tube is surrounded by a network of capillaries.
A sweat duct, shaped like a corkscrew, leads from the gland to an
opening in the epidermis; the opening is called a sweat pore.
Water, from the blood in the capillaries, diffuses into the sweat
gland, and a watery fluid is excreted by the gland.
This is sweat, and its chief constituent is sodium chloride (common
salt); sweat also contains small amounts of urea and lactic acid.
The sweat exudes through the pores on to the surface of the skin.
Sweat glands are most numerous where hair is absent on the skin.
A second type of sweat gland, usually associated with hair follicles
in such places as in the armpits, secretes a more viscous fluid;
these glands are mainly connected with odour
They exude sweat when the body, or mind, is under stress; the
viscous form of sweat becomes malodorous due to chemical
decomposition caused by bacterial activity.
Sweat is an excretion
The production of sweat is controlled in order to regulate the body
temperature
The horny layer provides a waterproof layer for preventing the loss
of body fluids; it also provides protection against blows, injurious
chemicals, and against the entry of bacteria and other foreign
bodies
The Malpighian layer produces new cells to maintain the surface of
the skin, and to heal wounds (see p. 203).
The hairs trap and provides an insulating layer of air against heat
loss by the body.
The sebaceous glands secrete sebum, which make the hair
waterproof and also keeps the skin supple, i.e. more elastic, and
prevents the horny surface cracking in dry conditions.
The nerve endings perceive various stimuli, such as heat, cold, pain
and touch, and the nerve fibres carry impulses from the nerve
endings to the central nervous system.
The fat cells provide insulation against heat losses.
The blood capillaries supply water and excretory
products to the sweat glands, and also transport heat, by
the blood, to the skin
The capillaries are capable of expansion and contraction
so that the quantity of heat transported from the body to
the skin can be increased or decreased
The sweat glands excrete sweat on to the skin surface
to take part in temperature control of the body
At the junction of the dermis and epidermis are found
special cells, called pigment cells, which produce a dark
pigment, melanin
The pigment is taken up by cells in the epidermis the
skin.
The pigment cells are activated by ultraviolet in the suns
rays, and the pigmented skin provides protection, for the
underlying tissues, against the ultraviolet rays of the sun.
HOMEOSTASIS
Temperature control
The skin balances heat losses and heat gains of
the body.
The functioning of all organs produces heat;
muscular activity produces more heat, and
violent exercise produces a great deal of heat.
Heat losses
Heat is lost from the body during external respiration as
expired air is always warm.
The excretion of urine and the voiding of faeces also
cause heat idsses.
Finally; heat is lost from the skin; this is the major loss.
Heat Loss from the skin
When the temperature of the skin is higher than the
temperature of the surrounding air, the skin radiates
heat.
In temperate climates this is the main way in which heat
is lost from the body.
To prevent heat losses when too much heat could be
lost by radiation, the body is covered with clothes which
are heat insulators.
Control by sweating
In tropical climates, the difference between the skin
temperature and the temperature of the surroundings is
small, and the air temperature can even be higher than
the skin temperature.
In such climates, the main way in which the body loses
heat is by sweating
When the body produces too much heat and its
temperature rises, the capillaries in the skin dilate, and
permit the blood to transport more heat to the skin; at the
same time, the sweat glands produce more sweat which
is exuded on to the skin
The watery fluid evaporates, and in so doing requires
heat for the latent heat of evaporation.
This heat is taken from the skin, and thus cools the skin
and, at the same time, the blood in the capillaries.
Cooler blood then circulates, lowering the body
temperature.
After strenuous exercise, which releases excess heat in
the muscles, the body excretes large quantities of sweat
to provide sufficient cooling.
The same effect occurs in hot climates where the
environment causes excessive heating of the body.
When the body becomes cold, or when a person is in a
cold climate, the capillaries contract and less heat is
transported to the skin.
Little or no sweat is excreted, reducing the cooling effect.
The body hairs are erected by the erector muscles to
provide an insulating layer of air and so prevent heat
losses by radiation.
Further Reading
Find out the role of ADH
Visit the following sites:
The Nephron Structure,
http://www.coolschool.ca/lor/BI12/unit14/U14L02.htm
What Does A Healthy Kidney Do?,
http://www.kidneypatientguide.org.uk/site/whattheydo.p
hp
