EXCRETION IN MAMMALS

Excretion is the process by which living organisms separate and remove/eliminate metabolic
waste products from the body cells.
These waste products include: carbon (IV) oxide, nitrogenous wastes, excess water and mineral
salts.
Need/significance/ importance of excretion.
It prevents accumulation of metabolic wastes which may become poisonous/ toxic to the cells.
This would alter the conditions under which cells function efficiently leading to death.
Excretory Organs in Mammals
Lung as Excretory Organ
 It eliminates carbon dioxide and water vapour, a waste product given off by cellular
respiration. These products are removed from the body when expired air diffuses through
the nostrils into the atmosphere.
 Carbon (IV) oxide is in higher concentration in blood capillaries (around the alveoli) than
the alveolar cavity/ space. It diffuses out of blood into the alveolar space/ cavity which is
then expelled from the lungs through exhalation. The exhaled air is moist leading to loss
of water/ moisture.
Skin as an Excretory Organ
 it removes excess water, salt, urea and uric acid
 The sweat glands absorb water, salts and small quantities of urea from the blood. These
substances form sweat in the sweat gland which eliminates through the sweat pore.

Liver as an Excretory Organ

 It excretes bile pigment or bilirubin
 It disposes worn-out red blood cells or hormones
 It detoxifies poisonous substances and drug
 Foreign particles in the blood stream are removed by phagocytic cells in the blood vessels
of the liver.
 It converts excess amino acid or ammonia into urea in a process known as deamination.
The urea is eliminated from blood stream through the skin or the kidney.
Kidneys as Excretory Organ
• It filters the blood to form urine, (excess water, salt, urea and uric acid)
Urinary System
It consists of two kidneys, two ureters, the urinary bladder and the urethra.
Functions of the kidney
 It regulates the volume of blood plasma
 It regulates the concentration of electrolytes (Na+, K +, and other ions) in the plasma
 It controls the pH of plasma □ Elimination of waste products in the blood
 Production of enzyme renin which helps rise blood pressure
Parts of a kidney.
1. Hilum- it is a depression located on the concave side of the kidney through which the renal
artery enters to supply blood from the heart containing oxygen, nutrients and urea and renal vein
which removes blood from kidney from the kidney to the heart containing carbon (IV) oxide.
2. Cortex – this is the outer part of the kidney and contains glomeruli, Bowman’s capsule and
the convoluted tubules of the nephrons.
3. Medulla – this is the inner part of the kidney. It is red in color and contains the loop of Henle
and the collecting ducts.
4. Pyramids- they are conical structures that extend from medulla.
5. Pelvis- this is a swollen cavity which is white in colour.
6. Ureter- it arises from the pelvis and directs urine to the urinary bladder for storage.
7. Nephrons- functional units of the kidney. Each kidney has about 5 million nephrons.
THE NEPHRON.
This is the basic functional unit of the kidney.
Each kidney contains about 5 million nephrons.
Parts of the nephron.
1. Afferent arteriole- brings blood to the nephron from the renal artery.
2. Efferent arteriole - takes blood away from the nephron to the renal vein.
3. Bowman's capsule- cavity which encloses the glomerulus.
4. Glomerulus (Plural; glomeruli) - a network of capillaries enclosed by Bowman’s capsule.
5. Proximal convoluted tubule- it is coiled and extends into Loop of Henle.
6. Loop of Henle- U- shaped part of the nephron.
7. Distal convoluted tubule- it is coiled and leads into a collecting duct/ tubule
8. Collecting duct- it receives urine from several nephrons and directs it to the pelvis and ureter.

The structure of kidney nephron.

ROLE OF THE KIDNEY IN EXCRETION/URINE FORMATION/HOW THE KIDNEY/
NEPHRON WORKS (FUNCTIONS)
The kidney/ nephron receives blood from the renal artery through afferent arteriole into the
glomerulus.  Blood contains urea, blood cells, dissolved food substances, water, hormones and
blood proteins.
The afferent arteriole receives blood at a higher pressure from the renal artery. The afferent
arteriole entering the glomerulus is wider that the efferent arteriole leaving it.
The higher blood pressure, narrower lumen of glomerulus and narrowness of the efferent
arteriole than the afferent arteriole causes resistance and high pressure in the glomerulus.
Because of the high pressure, small sized substances (water, urea, glucose, mineral salts, and
amino acids) filter through the glomerulus into Bowman’s capsule/ capsular cavity/ space in the
process called ultrafiltration. The mixture is called Glomerular filtrate.
Ultrafiltration is important to allow excretion/removal of metabolic/ nitrogenous waste/ urea.
Large sized substances (blood cells and blood proteins) do not filter through, instead they flow
to efferent arteriole. This is because of small pores of glomerulus and Bowman’s capsule.
The glomerular filtrate then flows to the proximal convoluted tubules where selective
reabsorption takes place.
Amino acids, glucose, vitamins, and some water are reabsorbed through diffusion and active
transport and water through osmosis.
Selective reabsorption is important to allow return/ reabsorption of useful substances back into
the blood stream.
The filtrate then flows to the descending arm/ limb of loop of Henle where water is selectively
reabsorbed through osmosis.
Water re-absorption is influenced by active uptake of sodium ions at the ascending loop of Henle
which increases osmotic pressure of tissue fluid and Anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) secreted by
pituitary gland.
At the ascending arm/ limb of Loop of Henle, sodium ions /salts / mineral salts/ ions are
selectively re-absorbed through active transport. Re-absorption of sodium chloride ions is
controlled by aldosterone secreted by adrenal glands.
The filtrate then flows to distal convoluted tubule where water is reabsorbed through osmosis.
The water reabsorption is influenced by active uptake of sodium ions at the loop of Henle and
Antidiuretic hormone.
The filtrate/ urine then flows to collecting duct where water is reabsorbed through osmosis.
Urine contains urea, excess salts, water, some ammonia, and some uric acid.
Urine flows to the pelvis and then to the urinary bladder through the ureter. Urinary bladder
stores the urine for some time before it is eliminated through the urethra (through urination).

ADAPTATIONS OF THE NEPHRON TO ITS FUNCTION.

1. Afferent arteriole has a wider lumen than efferent arteriole creating high pressure that enables
ultrafiltration to occur at the glomerulus.
2. The glomeruli (capillaries) have tiny pores to facilitate ultra-filtration.
3. The proximal and distal convoluted tubules have the following adaptations:
a) The lumen wall has villi and microvilli which increase the surface area for reabsorption.
b) The tubule is long and highly coiled to increase surface area and slow down movement of
filtrate/ creating more time for efficient reabsorption.
c) It is one cell thick/has thin epithelium to reduce the distance travelled by substances hence
faster reabsorption of materials.
d) The tubule is well vascularized/ well supplied with blood capillaries for transportation of
reabsorbed materials/ create a steep concentration gradient for efficient transport of reabsorbed
materials.
e) The cells lining the tubule have numerous mitochondria which provide energy for active
transport/ reabsorption of substances.
5. The Loop of Henle has the following adaptations:
a) It is long to increase the surface area for re-absorption of mineral salts and water.
b) It has a counter current flow established between the filtrate flow and the large supply of
blood in capillaries. This creates a large/steep diffusion gradient for efficient re-absorption.
Renal adaptations of a desert animal e.g. desert rat
1. Has a small glomerulus to reduce the amount of water filtered into the glomerular filtrate
which helps in water retention
2. Has a long loop of Henle to increase the surface area for water reabsorption conserving water/
causing less water to be lost in urine.
Renal adaptations of aquatic animal e.g. hippo.
1. Has a large glomerulus to increase the amount of water filtered into the glomerular filtrate.
2. Has a short loop of Henle to reduce water re-absorption.
Factors that promote re-absorption of water in the distal convoluted tubule.
1. The active uptake of mineral salts at the loop of Henle that raises the osmotic potential of
blood.
2. Secretion of Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) from the pituitary gland which increases
permeability of the tubules and blood capillaries to water.
Factors that determine the quantity and concentration of urine in animals.
1. Habitat e.g. whether terrestrial or aquatic.
2. Physiological adaptations.
3. Structural adaptations e.g. possession of a long loop of Henle.
4. Environmental temperature- as temperature increases, the amount of urine produced decreases.
 This is because increase in temperature increases sweating which raises the osmotic pressure of
blood.  This causes more water to be reabsorbed into the bloodstream in the kidney tubules
resulting in production of little but concentrated urine. Role of the kidney in excretion/
purification of blood.
 Blood entering the kidney has a lot of water, salts and nitrogenous wastes e.g. urea, uric acid,
ammonia and creatinine.
 In the glomerulus, these substances are forced out into the glomerulus by the process of
ultrafiltration.
 They pass through the tubules without reabsorption and finally eliminated through urine and
the blood leaving the kidney is purified

Kidney Failure
The kidneys may be damaged due to infection, injury, diabetes, and extremes of blood pressure.
A damaged kidney cannot function efficiently to remove urea, ions, water, etc., from the blood.
This malfunctioning results in the accumulation of toxic wastes like urea (uremia), which can
lead to death. One of the ways to treat kidney failure is to use a ‘dialysis machine’ that acts as an
artificial kidney. It has a long tube like structure made of Cellophane suspended in a tank
(dialyser) of a fresh dialysis fluid (dialysis). The Cellophane tube is partially permeable and
therefore allows solutes to diffuse through. The dialysis fluid has the same concentration as
normal tissue fluid, but nitrogenous wastes and excess salts are absent. During dialysis, the blood
of the patient is withdrawn from an artery and cooled at 0°C. It is maintained in a liquid state by
adding an anticoagulant and by other special treatments. It is pumped through the dialysis
machine. Here, the nitrogenous waste products from the blood diffuse into the dialysis fluid. The
purified blood is then warmed to the body temperature and pumped back into the patient’s body
through a vein. The dialyser is specific for each patient to avoid infections. Dialysis through an
artificial kidney has to be carried out at frequent intervals. This process of purification of blood
is called haemodialysis. A dialysis machine works like a kidney except that no selective
reabsorption takes place in the former.
ROLE OF THE LIVER IN EXCRETION.
Deamination/ Regulation of amino acids levels-
Excess amino acids cannot be stored in the body because the body does not have mechanism for
storage hence are eliminated through deamination. Deamination is the process by which excess
amino acids are broken down in the liver to form urea which is excreted in urine.
Process of deamination.
Amino group (NH2) is removed from the amino acid. Amino group combines with hydrogen
atom to form ammonia.  Ammonia is taken into ornithine cycle reacts/ combines with carbon
(IV) oxide to form urea. Ornithine cycle is controlled by enzyme carbonic anhydrase/orginase. 
The remaining organic compound is converted into glucose. Glucose is broken down to release
energy or converted into glycogen/ fat for storage.
Detoxification of toxic substances.
The liver converts toxic substances into harmless form and eliminates them.  The toxic
substances arise from metabolic activities of the liver, drugs, foods or drinks.  For example,
hydrogen peroxide produced by actively respiring cells is toxic.  Enzyme catalase in the liver
catalyzes/ speeds up the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen which are
harmless.
Excretion of bile pigments/ haemoglobin regulation.
Bile pigments produced as a result of breakdown of red blood cells/haemoglobin are removed by
the liver.  Haemoglobin is broken down into haem group and globin. Globin is digested into
amino acids while haem group is broken down into bilirubin and biliverdin and taken to the liver/
gall bladder.  Bilirubin and biliverdin are released into the gut as bile and passed out through
faeces (giving it brown colour). N/B.  Haemoglobin breakdown also releases pigment called
urochrome which is eliminated in urine (giving it yellow tinge colour)

Practice KNEC questions

State the importance of excretion in living organisms
List four functions of kidney
Name two substances excreted through liver
Explain the role of mammalian skin in excretion
(a) Relate the structure of proximal convoluted tubule to its function
(b) Name the substance reabsorbed in the proximal convoluted tubule
Describe the structure and functions of nephrons
Relate the structural modification of nephron of a desert animal to its habitat