Excretion and Osmoregulation

EXCRETION AND HOMEOSTASIS

Excretion, as mention before is the removal of metabolic wastes from the body. These wastes are called metabolic because they are made inside cells. The term excretory products is also used to mean metabolic wastes as they are all excreted from the body by one means or another.

Metabolic wastes/ excretory products

In humans and most animals the main excretory product is Urea. This is a nitrogen base compound which comes from the breakdown of excess amino acids in the liver (recall; amino acids are the final product of digestion of proteins and all proteins contain nitrogen).

The process which breaks down excess amino acid is called Deamination.

Other excretory products include: carbon dioxide which is a waste product from respiration in cells, metabolic water which is also as a result of respiration (glucose + oxygen carbon dioxide + water + energy), excess salts and bile pigments.
Excess salts derive from the breakdown of unwanted substances such as excess hormones in the blood and other substances which go to the liver to be metabolized.

Bile pigments come from old red blood cells which are broken down in the liver as well. Bile is stored in the gall bladder and used for the digestion of fats. NB Bile is the only metabolic product that is excreted through the alimentary canal.

TABLE SHOWING EXCETORY PRODUCTS AND THE ORGANS THAT EXCRETE THEM
Excretory products Urea Carbon dioxide, water vapour Metabolic water Salts Bile pigments Organs The Kidneys The Lungs The Kidneys and the Skin The Skin and Kidneys The alimentary canal

Excretory Organs

The Lungs:

Even though the lungs are a part of the respiratory system, they are very essential in excretion.

The lungs are specialized for the diffusion of gases and Carbon dioxide is a harmful gas that needs to get out of the body after respiration.

The lungs provide a large surface area for carbon dioxide gas to quickly diffuse and exhaled out of the body.

See figure 1, drawing of a human lungs and structure of the trachea and air sacs.

The Lungs

The skin

Even though the skin is essential in helping to regulate our body temperature it is quite important in excretion. The skin is the bodys largest organ and therefore has a great surface area for excretion to occur. When we sweat, we are not only cooling down the body but getting rid of unwanted salts, water and traces of urea. The skin is responsible for removing wastes in sweat. Sweat comes directly from the blood which transports useful substances as well as wastes; even some carbon dioxide is excreted by the skin.

The skin is made up of layers, the two main layers are: the epidermis which is the upper and the dermis which is the lower layer. There is a layer of fat beneath the dermis called the Hypodermis.
The dermis contains most of the structures in the skin. For example, sweat glands, hair follicles, sebaceous/oil glands blood vessels and nerves.

The epidermis has two sections, the upper section is called the cornified layer, and it is made up of dead cells and has a protective role.
The other layer is the germinal layer with living cells and the pigment Melanin which gives the shin its dark colour.

The skin is specialized for the excretion of sweat because of its large amounts of sweat glands which leads out through sweat pores.
Also, the many capillaries in the skin which carries contents of the blood close to the sweat glands to be excreted.

Fig. 2: Diagram of a human skin

The Kidneys:

The kidneys are the main excretory organs of the body; they excrete most of the urea, salts/ions and water from the body. All these wastes together make up urine. Humans have two kidneys which are located in the lower back. The left kidney is slightly above the right but they are both embedded on either sides of the vertebral column. Each kidney has a bean shape and is made up of three main sections.

The outer pale layer is called the Cortex; the middle layer is the Medulla and the inner stem like section which narrows to become the ureter is called the Pelvis.
Inside the kidneys are a series of tubules which run from the Cortex to the Pelvis. These tubules are highly coiled and are called Nephrons.

Diagram of Kidney

These small structures are responsible for filtering the blood and removing the excretory products.
A nephron is made up of a cup-like structure called a Bowmans capsule. This capsule contains a knot of capillaries called a glomerulus; the blood is filtered here due to the high pressure in the glomerulus.

The Bowmans capsule is in the cortex of the kidney and the first coiled tube which extends from the Bowmans capsule is called the proximal convoluted tubule.
This tubule extends downward into the Medulla to form a loop called the loop of Henle.

The loop of Henle comes back up into the cortex and forms another coil called the distal convoluted tubule. The coiled tubule joins the collecting duct which runs from the medulla to the pelvis.

HOW IS URINE PRODUCED FROM BLOOD

The Renal arteries carry blood with wastes to both kidneys. Inside the kidneys the renal artery branches to form many afferent arterioles which form the glomerulus in each Bowmans capsule.

The afferent arteriole has a larger diameter than the efferent arteriole which carries filtered blood away from the glomerulus. The fact that the afferent arteriole has a larger diameter than the efferent this is a very high pressure in the glomerulus.

The pressure causes the blood in the glomerulus to be squeezed through the capillary walls and into the Bowmans capsule. This is called ultra filtration or pressure filtration.

Most of the constituents of blood will go into the Bowmans capsule except for blood cells and large protein molecules. This filtrate is called the Glomerular filtrate. It is composed of water, salts, glucose, amino acids, fatty acids, glycerol and urea.

Fig. 3: Diagram of a human kidney

As the glomerular filtrate passes along the nephron useful substances are reabsorbed. As a matter of fact, 80% of the useful substances are absorbed at the proximal convoluted tubule. This is called selective reabsorption as only the useful substances are reabsorbed.

This is done by active transport and therefore requires energy. As the remaining substances move along the length of the nephron the next 20% of useful substances are reabsorbed into the capillaries that surround the nephron.
Most of the remaining water is reabsorbed in the loop of Henle.

While, wanted salts are reabsorbed in the distal convoluted tubules. When the glomerular filtrate reaches the collecting duct it forms urine. More water and salts are reabsorbed here.

Urine left the collecting ducts, enter the pelvis and move to the ureter which carries urine to the bladder where it is stored and periodically released through the urethra.
The reabsorbed constituents go into the capillaries and then carried to the renal vein which carries blood away from the kidneys. Urine and sweat have very similar constituents; its the amount that varies. Sweat is more concentrated as it contains less water than urine but a lot of salts.

CONTENTS OF URINE AND SWEAT

Urine
Water Urea Sodium chloride Other salts Other nitrogenous substances

Sweat
Water Trace of urea Sodium chloride Other salts Trace of bicarbonate

Urinal System in Man

A ureter leads from each kidney and enters the bladder; the function of the bladder is to store urine.

It is emptied by a tube called the urethra, the entrance to which is guarded by a sphincter muscle, an involuntary muscle.

The urethra leads to the exterior of the body; in females, the urethra is quite short (about 4 cm long), and emerges just in front of the external opening of the vagina (reproduction); in males, the urethra is much longer (about 18 cm.), leading into the penis (reproduction).

The kidneys are the main excretory organs of the body, and nearly 2000 litres of blood pass through them every 24 hours.

The bladder has a maximum capacity of about 500 cm3; when it is full, its distension stimulates a nerve, and by a conscious response, the bladder muscles are stimulated by urine under pressure. (See Fig. 13).

Function of Kidney
Urea, glucose, soluble inorganic salts, and water (these are all small molecules) filter through the wall of the capillaries in the glomeruluss, that through the walls of the capsule, and the filtrate passes into the seminiferous tubule. Blood proteins (which are large molecules) do not filter through.

As the filtrate passes along the tubule, various materials are reabsorbed and pass back across the wall of the tubule into the blood in the capillaries All the glucose is reabsorbed. A little of the urea is reabsorbed

Sodium ions and chloride ions are reabsorbed sufficiently to keep the blood level of sodium chloride, exactly right.

The kidney regulates the blood level of sodium chloride. It also regulates the level if some other ions, such as calcium, potassium, phosphate and bicarbonate

By regulating the blood level of hydrogen ion the kidney works to prevent the blood from becoming too acid or too alkaline. Finally, in the collecting ducts water is reabsorbed, so that the urine as it finally reaches the bladder is a rather concentrated solution of unwanted materials.

Normal urine contains no glucose, no protein, and no amino acids. It does contain variable quantities of urea and ions. The amount of urine produced depends on the amount of water which has been drunk. An average quantity is about 1 liter to 1.5 liters per day.

Composition of Urine

Normal urine contains 96% by weight of water the remaining 4% being dissolved dissolved solids.

It is a clear, amber-coloured liquid with a slightly acidic reaction.

Urea is the chief constituent of the dissolved solids and accounts for 2%; sodium chloride accounts for more than 1%, the amount being variable

The remainder includes phosphate, sulphates and oxalates of potassium, calcium and magnesium, and also 0-3% of uric acid, a nitrogenous waste product from proteins.

Homeostasis is all the processes involved to maintenance of a constant internal environment. These include maintaining a constant blood sugar level, internal body temperature and water balance/blood concentration. The aforementioned are important as without this regulation system the blood sugar concentration may increase to abnormal levels, this causes numerous problems as seen in diabetes.

On the other hand if the blood sugar level falls too low the cells will not have enough energy to carry out their activities.

Secondly, if the internal body temperature is too low the enzyme will be inactivated which will reduce cellular activity, if it is too high the enzymes will be denatured again reducing cellular activity.

Finally, if the blood is too concentrated with salts it can affect the osmotic balance and pull liquids from the cells. This in turns will increase the blood pressure.

If it is too low the water will move into the cells, making them too turgid and burst.

Homeostasis is controlled by the Hypothalamus of the brain which sends messages to various parts of the body when necessary. Homeostasis is achieved negative feedback and positive feedback mechanism. Negative feedback mechanism occurs when a change is detected by the body and this detection starts a mechanism to restore the normal condition.

For example body temperature, water balance and blood sugar, pH, and carbon dioxide concentration in the body. Positive feedback mechanism occurs lest often in our body, it happens when the change which stimulates the body is increased. For example the contraction of the uterus during birth is detected and the hormone oxytocin is produced which increases contraction and this cause more oxytocin to be released.

Negative feedback mechanism occurs when a change is detected by the body and this detection starts a mechanism to restore the normal condition. For example body temperature, water balance and blood sugar, pH, and carbon dioxide concentration in the body.

Positive feedback mechanism occurs lest often in our body, it happens when the change which stimulates the body is increased. For example the contraction of the uterus during birth is detected and the hormone oxytocin is produced which increases contraction and this cause more oxytocin to be released.

Too much

Corrective mechanism

Level rise

Level drops

Normal level

Normal level

Level drops

Level rises

Too little

Corrective mechanism

BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS

Blood sugar level is affected by a meal or several hours without a meal. After a meal the blood sugar level increases. This is detected by the islet cells of the pancreas.

Beta cells in the islet of Langerhans start to produce and secrete a hormone called insulin.

Insulin in the blood causes the glucose in the blood to be taken up by the liver and muscles and converted to glycogen. Some is also converted to fats and stored while the remainder is oxidized to produce energy for the body. Blood sugar level is restored.

On the other hand, several hours without eating cause the blood sugar level to fall. This is detected by alpha cells in the pancreas and causes them to produce and secrete a different hormone called glucagons.

Glucagons cause the liver to breakdown glycogen to glucose which is released into the blood.

Blood sugar level is restored. Liver

Liver Glycogen converted in liver glucose Less insulin more More glucagons secreted by Blood glucose 90mg/100cm3 fat in liver Glycogen stored in liver glucose oxidized less glucagons Insulin secreted by

pancreas cells
detected by islets of Langerhans in pancreas Blood glucose level falls Glycogen in muscles Glucose

pancreas cells
detected by islets of Langerhans in pancreas Blood glucose level rises

BODY TEMPERATURE

Normal body temperature is 37C or 98.6F. Temperature is a degree of hotness or coldness of an object.

Heat is a form of energy measured in joules.

When the internal temperature rises above 37C or 98.6F it is detected by the Hypothalamus of the brain which sends electrical impulses to the skin.

At the skin, blood vessels dilate (vasodilatation) and have closer o the surface, losing heat by radiation.

The sweat glands produce large amounts of sweat which goes to the surface of the skin and evaporate.
This has a cooling effect on the body.

Erector muscles pulls hairs flat to prevent extra trapping of air over the surface of the skin.

After all these mechanisms normal temperature is restored. If the body temperature falls too low then the skin is instructed in a different way.

Blood vessels in the skin constrict (vasoconstriction) to prevent further loss of heat.

An involuntary muscular contraction called shivering begins. This produces heat for the body.

Sweat glands become inactive and respiration increases. Additionally, the hairs stand erect to trap a layer of air over the surface of the body. This acts as an insulator like the layer of fat beneath the skin. Normal body temperature is usually restored.

Body temperature fall Body temperature rise

Body temperature rise Body temperature lowered

Pituitary gland in brain

Body response

Shivering Capillaries constrict Blood flow decreases Hair stand erect

sweating Capillaries dilate Blood flow increases Hair lies flat

WATER BALANCE

The control of water balance or blood concentration is called Osmoregulation. If the blood is too concentrated receptors in the hypothalamus of the brain detects it and cause the release of a hormone called antidiuretic hormone (ADH).

This hormone targets the kidneys where it increases the permeability of the distal convoluted tubule and collecting ducts to water so that most of the water goes back into the blood and a small amount of concentrated urine is produced. If the blood is too dilute, then less ADH is secreted so more water goes into the glomerular filtrate which later forms a larger amount of diluted urine.

Blood dilute Pituitary gland in brain No thirst Less ADH in blood

Blood concentrated

thirst More ADH in blood

More water in urine

Less reabsorption of water into the blood Urine dilute

Less water in urine

More reabsorption of water into the blood Urine concentrated

Normal water potential

Examination Questions

Read each question carefully and write the appropriate answers. Check your answers by reading over the responds given

Exam type Questions

Maintaining normal blood sugar levels is important for proper functioning of our cells and for ensuring our optimum energy requirements. Figure 50 shows a schematic diagram of some of the major organs and processes associated with maintaining normal blood sugar.

(a) (b)

Figure 50: Schematic diagram Name organ J, which detects changes in blood glucose level. (1mk) (i) Insulin and glucagon are examples of what type of substance? (2mks) (ii) Explain how the blood levels of the following substances change with blood sugar concentrations.
Insulin:

(c)

(d)

(4mks) Identify EACH of the following processes occurring in the kidney: (i) Process H, in which sugar leaves the blood. (1mk) (ii) Process I, in which sugar re-enters the blood. (1mk) Explain why insulin is given as an injection. (1mk)

Glucagon:

Figure 52 shows a flow chart that represents the processes occurring in different structures in the kidney tubule

Name EACH of the structures labelled A, B and C. (3 mks) Name TWO substances reabsorbed at B. (2 mks) Why must the blood enter the kidney at high pressure? (1 mk) Suggest a possible reason for protein being present in the urine at D. (1 mk)

(e)

(i) Explain why there should be no sugar in the urine leaving the normal kidney. (2mks) (ii) State the condition associated with the presence of sugar in the urine. (1 mk)

3. (a)

(i) Define the term 'excretion'. (2mks) (ii) Name TWO excretory organs, OTHER THAN the kidneys. (2mks) (b) (i) The kidneys regulate blood composition in three ways. One way is removing excess water. Identify TWO OTHER ways. (2mks) (ii) How do the kidneys assist in maintaining blood pH? (1mk) (c) Brian sweats profusely during a cricket game. Explain how the sweat reaches the surface of the skin. (3mks)

Figure 56 shows the internal structure of a human kidney

Figure 56: Internal structure of kidney Name the parts labelled A an B. (2mks) Describe the process of ultra-filtration and reabsorption in the nephron. (3mks) Define the term homeostasis. (2mks) Describe the role of the anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) in the human body. (5mks) Explain how the skin functions in regulating body temperature in humans. (8mks)