EXCRETION AND

OSMOREGULATION
Prepared by: Ta-Lung G. Tseng

I. Introduction:
Physiological systems of animals operate in a fluid environment. Relative
concentrations of water and solutes must be maintained within fairly narrow limits in
order to maintain the equilibrium inside and outside the organism’s body.
Osmoregulation regulates solute concentrations and balances the gain and loss of
water. There are many organisms living in different habitat. Thus resulting to
different adaptive mechanisms in eliminating metabolic wastes.

II. Objectives:
In this module, you should be able to:
a. describe how excretion differs from one organism to another;
b. determine the excretory structures of different organisms, and
c. justify the importance of structural diversity in different organisms.

III. Pre-assessment
Jumbled Jungle. Arrange the following jumbled letters to form the words that will
satisfy the statements given.

______________S M I O S O S 1. This process refers to the movement

______________D N Y E K I
______________T R F L I A I N O T
______________C N T R A C O E N O I N T
______________S W S T A E
of solvent molecules like water through
a semi-permeable membrane.
2. A pair of organs that filters blood to
remove metabolic wastes.
3. This process refers to the separation
of solid from the liquid.
4. This refers to the relative amount of
solute present in a solution.
5. These are unwanted substances that
are eliminated from the body.
 IV. Topics
In a freshwater ecosystem, the concentration of the solute in the environment is
relatively lower than the internal body system of its inhabitants. Freshwater animals
show adaptations that reduce water uptake and conserve solutes. On the other hand,
desert and marine animals face desiccating environments that can quickly deplete
body water thus developed mechanism in conserving water.

Osmoregulation is based largely on controlled movement of solutes between internal fluids and the external
environment. Cells require a balance between uptake and loss of water.

Take note:
 If two solutions are isoosmotic, the movement of water is equal in both directions
 If two solutions differ in osmolarity, the net flow of water is from the hypoosmotic to the hyperosmotic
solution.

Photo from: Campbell Ninth Edition Lecture Powerpoint Chapter 44 by

Erin Barley and Kathryn Fitzpatrick

Osmolarity - the solute

concentration of a
solution, determines the
movement of water
across a selectively
permeable membrane
Osmotic Challenges
Osmoconformers, consisting only of some marine animals, are isoosmotic with their surroundings and do not
regulate their osmolarity. Osmoregulators expend energy to control water uptake and loss in a hyperosmotic or
hypoosmotic environment.

Most animals are stenohaline; they cannot tolerate substantial changes in external osmolarity. Euryhaline animals
can survive large fluctuations in external osmolarity. Most marine invertebrates are osmoconformers. Most marine
vertebrates and some invertebrates are osmoregulators. Marine bony fishes are hypoosmotic to sea water. They lose
water by osmosis and gain salt by diffusion and from food. They balance water loss by drinking seawater and excreting
salts. Freshwater animals constantly take in water by osmosis from their hypoosmotic environment. They lose salts by
diffusion and maintain water balance by excreting large amounts of dilute urine. Salts lost by diffusion are replaced in
foods and by uptake across the gills.

Photo from: Campbell Ninth Edition Lecture Powerpoint Chapter 44 by

Erin Barley and Kathryn Fitzpatrick

Land animals have adaptations to reduce water loss are key to survival on land. Body coverings of most terrestrial
animals help prevent dehydration. Desert animals get major water savings from simple anatomical features and behaviors
such as a nocturnal life style. Land animals maintain water balance by eating moist food and producing water metabolically
through cellular respiration. The type and quantity of an animal’s waste products may greatly affect its water balance.
Among the most significant wastes are nitrogenous breakdown products of proteins and nucleic acids. Some animals
convert toxic ammonia (NH3) to less toxic compounds prior to excretion.

Photo from: Campbell Ninth Edition Lecture Powerpoint Chapter 44 by

Erin Barley and Kathryn Fitzpatrick
 Forms of Nitrogenous Wastes

Animals excrete nitrogenous wastes in different

forms: ammonia, urea, or uric acid. These differ in
toxicity and the energy costs of producing them

1. Ammonia
Animals that excrete nitrogenous wastes as ammonia need access to lots of water. They
release ammonia across the whole body surface or through gills
2. Urea
The liver of mammals and most adult amphibians converts ammonia to the less toxic
urea. The circulatory system carries urea to the kidneys, where it is excreted. Conversion
of ammonia to urea is energetically expensive; excretion of urea requires less water than
ammonia
3. Uric Acid
Insects, land snails, and many reptiles, including birds, mainly excrete uric acid. Uric acid
is relatively nontoxic and does not dissolve readily in water. It can be secreted as a paste
with little water loss. Uric acid is more energetically expensive to produce than urea.

Excretory Systems of Different Organisms

Excretory systems regulate solute movement between internal fluids and the external
environment. Most excretory systems produce urine by refining a filtrate derived from body
fluids. Systems that perform basic excretory functions vary widely among animal groups They
usually involve a complex network of tubules.

Excretory Processes

1. Filtration: Filtering of body fluids

2. Reabsorption: Reclaiming valuable solutes
3. Secretion: Adding nonessential solutes and wastes from the body fluids to the filtrate
4. Excretion: Processed filtrate containing nitrogenous wastes, released from the body.

The excretion processes of different organisms are

composed of 4 basic process:

1. Filtration
2. Reabsorption
3. Secretion
4. Excretion
 Types of Excretory Systems
1. Protonephridia

A protonephridium is a network of dead-end

tubules connected to external openings. The smallest
branches of the network are capped by a cellular unit
called a flame bulb. These tubules excrete a dilute fluid
and function in osmoregulation

Photo from: Campbell Ninth Edition Lecture Powerpoint

Chapter 44 by Erin Barley and Kathryn Fitzpatrick

2. Metanephridia
Each segment of an earthworm has a
pair of open-ended metanephridia.
Metanephridia consist of tubules that collect
coelomic fluid and produce dilute urine for
excretion.

Photo from: Campbell Ninth Edition Lecture Powerpoint

Chapter 44 by Erin Barley and Kathryn Fitzpatrick

3. Malpighian Tubules
In insects and other terrestrial arthropods,
Malpighian tubules remove nitrogenous wastes from
hemolymph and function in osmoregulation. Insects
produce a relatively dry waste matter, mainly uric
acid, an important adaptation to terrestrial life.
Some terrestrial insects can also take up water from
the air.

Photo from: Campbell Ninth Edition Lecture Powerpoint

Chapter 44 by Erin Barley and Kathryn Fitzpatrick
4. Kidneys
Kidneys, the excretory organs of vertebrates, function in both excretion and
osmoregulation

Photo from: Campbell Ninth Edition Lecture Powerpoint

Chapter 44 by Erin Barley and Kathryn Fitzpatrick
 Concept: The nephron is organized
for stepwise processing of blood
filtrate. The filtrate is produced in
Bowman’s capsule contains salts,
glucose, amino acids, vitamins,
nitrogenous wastes, and other
small molecules. It is the
FILTRATION UNIT OF THE KIDNEY.

Parts of the nephron and their functions:

1. Proximal Tubule

Reabsorption of ions, water, and nutrients takes

place in the proximal tubule. Molecules are
transported actively and passively from the filtrate
into the interstitial fluid and then capillaries. Some
toxic materials are actively secreted into the filtrate.
As the filtrate passes through the proximal tubule,
materials to be excreted become concentrated

2. Descending Limb of the Loop of Henle

Reabsorption of water continues through

channels formed by aquaporin proteins. Movement is
driven by the high osmolarity of the interstitial fluid,
which is hyperosmotic to the filtrate. The filtrate
becomes increasingly concentrated as it descends
the loop.

3. Ascending Limb of the Loop of Henle

In the ascending limb of the loop of Henle, salt

but not water is able to diffuse from the tubule into
the interstitial fluid. The filtrate becomes increasingly
dilute as it ascends the loop.

4. Distal Tubule

The distal tubule regulates the K+ and NaCl

concentrations of body fluids. The controlled
movement of ions contributes to pH regulation.

5. Collecting Duct

The collecting duct carries filtrate through the

medulla to the renal pelvis . One of the most
important tasks is reabsorption of solutes and water.
Photo from: Campbell Ninth Edition Lecture Powerpoint
Urine is hyperosmotic to body fluids.
Chapter 44 by Erin Barley and Kathryn Fitzpatrick
 5. The distal tubule
regulates the K+ and NaCl
2. Reabsorption of ions, concentrations of body
1. In the glomerulus, water, and nutrients fluids. The controlled
capillary networks takes place in the movement of ions
supply blood to be proximal tubule. contributes to pH
filtered through the regulation.
Bowman’s capsule.

Photo from:
Campbell Ninth
Edition Lecture
Powerpoint
Chapter 44 by
Erin Barley and
Kathryn
Fitzpatrick

4. Salt but not 6. The collecting

water is able to duct carries filtrate
h 3. Reabsorption of
diffuse from the through the
water continues
tubule into the medulla to the
through channels
interstitial fluid. renal pelvis. One of
formed by aquaporin
The filtrate the most
proteins. The filtrate
becomes important tasks is
becomes increasingly
increasingly dilute reabsorption of
concentrated as it
as it ascends the solutes and water.
descends the loop.
loop. Urine is
hyperosmotic to
body fluids.

Let’s try to look how

water is conserved in the
nephrons.
Solute Gradients and Water Conservation
The mammalian kidney’s ability to conserve water is a key terrestrial adaptation. Hyperosmotic
urine can be produced only because considerable energy is expended to transport solutes
against concentration gradients. The two primary solutes affecting osmolarity are NaCl and urea.

Adaptations of the Vertebrate Kidney to Diverse Environments

The form and function of nephrons in various vertebrate classes are related to requirements for
osmoregulation in the animal’s habitat

Mammals

The juxtamedullary nephron is key to

water conservation in terrestrial animals.
Mammals that inhabit dry environments
have long loops of Henle, while those in
fresh water have relatively short loops

Birds and Other Reptiles

Birds have shorter loops of Henle but

conserve water by excreting uric acid
instead of urea. Other reptiles have only
cortical nephrons but also excrete
nitrogenous waste as uric acid.

Photo from: classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com

REFLECTION:

Situation: Organisms have different types of excretory systems. Apart from the
excretory system, the other organ system might differ structurally as well. Why do
organisms possess these anatomical differences despite of their physiological
similarities?

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V. SUMMARY
 Excretion involves the elimination of metabolic nitrogenous wastes from the
organism’s body.
 Different organisms have different excretory structures that is adapted to the
environment they are living in. In flatworms, the excretory structure is known as
protonephridia. In segmented worms, it exists as metanehpridia. In insects, it is
known as Malphigian tubules. And lastly, in warm-blooded animals, they are
known as kidneys.
 The kidneys of birds and reptiles are different from that of mammals. Avian and
reptilian kidneys have cortical nephrons whereas mammalian kidneys have
juxtamedullary nephrons.
 The kidney is composed of individual filtering units known as nephrons.
 The kidney is composed of the following parts: renal cortex, renal medulla and
the renal pelvis.
 The different parts of a typical nephron are as follows: glomerulus, proximal
tubule, descending loop of Henle, ascending loop of Henle, distal tubule and
collecting duct.
 There are four processes in excretion: filtration, secretion, reabsorption and
excretion.
 The process on how urine is formed is summarized as follows:
a. Reabsorption of ions, water, and nutrients takes place in the proximal
tubule. Molecules are transported actively and passively from the filtrate
into the interstitial fluid and then capillaries. Some toxic materials are
actively secreted into the filtrate. As the filtrate passes through the
proximal tubule, materials to be excreted become concentrated
b. Reabsorption of water continues through channels formed by aquaporin
proteins. Movement is driven by the high osmolarity of the interstitial
fluid, which is hyperosmotic to the filtrate. The filtrate becomes
increasingly concentrated as it descends the loop.
c. In the ascending limb of the loop of Henle, salt but not water is able to
diffuse from the tubule into the interstitial fluid. The filtrate becomes
increasingly dilute as it ascends the loop.
d. The distal tubule regulates the K+ and NaCl concentrations of body fluids.
The controlled movement of ions contributes to pH regulation.
e. The collecting duct carries filtrate through the medulla to the renal pelvis.
One of the most important tasks is reabsorption of solutes and water.
Urine is hyperosmotic to body fluids.
 An organism’s body is a giant chemical factory immersed in an aqueous
environment. Water is regulated by the homeostatic mechanism of the organism
either by osmoconformation or osmoregulation. And within this abyssal matrix of
water environment, myriads of life supporting chemical processes occur.
According to Dalton’s Law of Conservation of Mass, the mass of the products is
equal to the mass of the reactants. Inside an organism’s body is a realm of
chemical interactions where uncountable simultaneous processes occur. And not
all products of metabolism are used by the body. These unused byproducts are
eliminated out of the body through excretion.
VI. Post Test
Describe the excretory mechanism of the following organisms.
1. Fish
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2. Kingfisher
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3. Humans
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VII. Glossary
Euryhaline – organisms that can tolerate fluctuations in external osmolarity.
Hyperosmotic – describing a solution or environment that has lower water
concentration thus resulting to inward movement of water
Hypoosmotic – describing a solution that has greater water concentration thus
resulting to an outward movement of water.
Isosmotic - the movement of water is equal in both directions
Kidneys – a pair of bean shaped organs that filters the blood of most warm blooded
animals.
Osmoconformers – organisms that adapts their osmotic internal environment to the
external environment
Osmolarity - the solute concentration of a solution, determines the movement of
water across a selectively permeable membrane.
Osmoregulation – regulation of solute concentrations and balances the gain and loss
of water in an organism
Osmoregulators – organisms that regulate a constant internal osmotic pressure.
Stenohaline – organisms that cannot survive changes in external osmolarity.

VIII. References
www.clker.com/babelfish-md.png
www.clipartmax.com/kidneyart.png
www.loinhacviet.info/studentthinkinart
www.mzayat.com/smartclipart
www.classconnection.s3.amazonaws.com/nephrons
www.slideplayer.com/kidneys
www.istockphoto.com/miniscientist-9908775
Microsoft Encarta Premium 2009
Campbell Ninth Edition Lecture Powerpoint Chapter 44 by Erin Barley and
Kathryn Fitzpatrick