Chapter 13

Lesson 1: Excretory organs

Kelvin S. Mallari
 At the end of the lesson, students should be to:
Lesson 13.1 Objectives 1. State that carbon dioxide is excreted through
the lungs;

2. State that the kidneys excrete urea and

excess water and ions;

3. Identify in diagrams and images the kidneys,

ureters, bladder and urethra;
Warming – up!

Excretion and egestion are the same.

TRUE FALSE

Excretion is the process by which organisms remove metabolic waste products. These are
substances that the body produces during normal chemical processes, such as carbon dioxide
from respiration or urea from protein breakdown.

Egestion, on the other hand, refers to the expulsion of undigested materials from the
digestive system. This includes anything that the body cannot digest or absorb, such as fiber
in humans, and is typically expelled as feces. While both processes are crucial for maintaining
health, excretion deals with the by-products of the body's chemical reactions, and egestion
handles leftover solid wastes from food.
Warming – up!
All living organisms excrete.
TRUE FALSE

Excretion is recognized as one of the seven essential characteristics that

define living organisms. It refers to the process by which living things
remove waste products that result from metabolic activities within their cells.
The ability to excrete these wastes is crucial for maintaining the organism's
internal balance and overall health. Without effective excretion, toxic
substances would accumulate within the body, potentially leading to
harmful effects on health or even death. Thus, excretion is a vital
biological function that helps organisms sustain stable internal environments,
facilitating normal functioning and survival.
What is excretion?
Excretion is a critical process in living organisms, involving the
removal of toxic materials and substances that the body does not
need. This includes waste products from chemical reactions
occurring within cells, such as carbon dioxide and urea. In
addition to these wastes, excretion also helps eliminate excess water
and salts that are ingested through food and drinks. Hormones
that have served their function are another category of
substances that need to be excreted to maintain health.
Moreover, the body uses excretion to rid itself of foreign
substances like drugs and toxins that can be harmful if allowed to
accumulate. Overall, excretion is essential for keeping the body's
internal environment stable and free from harmful build-up, ensuring
the organism remains healthy.
What are the waste products remove from the body?

Breakdown of glucose
Carbon dioxide
during respiration

Deamination of
Chemical Urea
examples amino acids
reactions
inside the
cells Nitrogenous
Protein breakdown waste products
(urine)

sweating Water, excess salts

What are the waste products remove from the body?

Breakdown of glucose during

Carbon dioxide
respiration

Chemical reactions example

inside the cells The breakdown of glucose during respiration is a key energy-producing
process in cells. It starts with glycolysis in the cytoplasm, where glucose is
split into two pyruvate molecules, yielding a small amount of energy.
These pyruvate molecules then enter the mitochondria and undergo the
Krebs cycle, which produces energy-rich molecules and transfers electrons
to the electron transport chain. Here, with the help of oxygen, a large
amount of ATP (energy) is generated, along with by-products like water
and carbon dioxide. This process is vital for powering cellular activities
and maintaining life.
What are the waste products remove from the body?
Chemical Deamination of amino
Urea
reactions inside example acids
the cells

Deamination is the process by which amino acids are broken down in the body. Amino
acids are the building blocks of proteins, and when the body doesn't need them for
protein synthesis or needs to convert them into energy, it removes the amino group from the
amino acid (Amino groups are functional groups containing nitrogen atoms with a basic set
of atoms that includes one nitrogen (N) and two hydrogen (H) atoms, expressed as -NH₂.).
This removal is called deamination. It primarily occurs in the liver. The amino group, once
removed, forms ammonia, a toxic substance. The body quickly converts this ammonia
into urea, a much less harmful chemical, which is then transported to the kidneys and
excreted from the body through urine. This process is crucial for the metabolism of
proteins and helps maintain a balance of nitrogen in the body, ensuring that excess amino
acids don't accumulate to toxic levels.
What are the waste products remove from the body?
Chemical reactions example
inside the cells
Nitrogenous waste
Protein breakdown
products (urine)

Protein breakdown, also known as protein catabolism, is the process by which proteins in
the body are broken down into their basic components, amino acids. This process is essential
because it helps the body recycle amino acids for new protein synthesis and convert any excess
into energy. Protein breakdown occurs in several steps. First, enzymes called proteases cut
the long protein molecules into smaller pieces, or peptides. These peptides are then
further broken down into individual amino acids. These released amino acids can be used by
the body to build new proteins that are required for various functions such as repairing
tissues, supporting immune function, or they can be further broken down in a process
called deamination to be used for energy. During this process, nitrogenous waste products are
generated. These wastes include substances like urea, which the body cannot use and thus
excretes through the urine.
What are the waste products remove from the body?
Chemical example Sweating is a natural process that helps regulate the body's temperature. When your
reactions
inside the body heats up, either from external temperatures or internal activities like exercise,
cells sweat glands in the skin release sweat, which is mostly water along with some salts
and other substances. As this sweat evaporates from the skin's surface, it cools the
body down. This cooling effect helps maintain a stable body temperature essential
for proper functioning. Sweating can also occur in response to stress, nervousness,
or hormonal changes. Beyond temperature regulation, sweating helps remove toxins
from the body, contributing to overall health.

sweating Water, excess

salts
The primary function of the lungs is to supply the LUNGS AS ORGAN FOR EXCRETION
body with oxygen, which is vital for all cellular
activities. They also play a crucial role in excreting
carbon dioxide (CO2), a waste product from the
metabolism of nutrients (which involves
converting food and drinks into energy and
building materials for growth, repair, and
functioning). Gas exchange, the process where
oxygen and carbon dioxide are swapped, occurs in
the alveoli, small air sacs in the lungs. Additionally,
when we breathe out, we lose water vapor because
the air has been humidified by the respiratory
system. While this loss of water vapor is not a
major way to control water levels in the body, it
highlights the lungs’ role in excreting gases and
maintaining a stable internal environment.
LIVER AS ORGAN FOR EXCRETION
The liver plays a crucial role in the body's excretory and
metabolic processes. One of its key functions is
deamination, where it removes the nitrogen-containing
part from amino acids to form urea. Urea (a small,
organic compound composed of carbon, nitrogen,
oxygen, and hydrogen)is then excreted from the body
through urine.

The liver is also responsible for assimilation, which involves

absorbing nutrients and converting them into substances
that the body can use. It takes amino acids from the blood
and uses them to synthesize new proteins needed for various
functions. Example: Liver can convert excess glucose into
insoluble glycogen (a substance (solid) that will not dissolve in
a solvent even after mixing) and stores it. When glucose is
needed, liver converts glycogen into glucose.
LIVER AS ORGAN FOR EXCRETION The liver plays a crucial role in breaking down
alcohol. It processes about 80-90% of the alcohol
you drink, filtering it from your blood. However, the
liver can only handle about one standard drink per
hour (which is 12 ounces (355ml) of beer, 5 ounces
(148ml) of wine, or 1.5 ounces (44ml) of hard
liquor).

Drinking more than this can overwhelm the liver,

leading to intoxication or even long-term liver
damage. In addition to breaking down alcohol, the
liver also helps remove waste products like urea,
manages nutrients, and detoxifies harmful substances.
KIDNEY AS ORGAN FOR
EXCRETION The kidneys are essential for removing waste from the
blood. Their main job is to get rid of urea, which is a
waste product from breaking down proteins, along
with other harmful substances.

They also help maintain the body's fluid balance by

removing extra salts and water. The kidneys get rid of
hormones that have finished their job, as well as drugs and
toxins, keeping the blood clean and the body healthy.

This process happens through millions of tiny filtering units

called nephrons, which work to clean the blood and
balance important substances before the waste is removed
as urine. This is key to keeping the body’s internal
environment stable and healthy.
 The urinary system plays a critical role in
maintaining the body's internal balance of water and
ions, a process known as osmoregulation.
The Urinary system
The center of this system are the kidneys, which are
fairly solid, oval-shaped organs. Each kidney is
encased in a transparent membrane and situated at
the back of the abdominal cavity, just above the
waist. These organs work to regulate the amount
of water and various ions (like sodium and
potassium) in the blood. This regulation is vital
for ensuring that the blood and body fluids maintain
the right concentration of substances, which helps
keep cells functioning properly and supports overall
bodily health.
The kidneys filter the blood, remove excess water
and waste products, and return the cleaned blood
back to circulation, while the unwanted substances
are expelled from the body as urine. This balancing
act is essential for homeostasis, which keeps the
body's internal environment stable despite external
changes.
 The urinary system includes important
The Urinary system blood vessels that ensure the kidneys receive
and expel blood after filtration. The renal
artery plays a critical role by carrying
oxygen-rich blood to the kidneys. This artery
branches off from the aorta, which is the
main artery coming from the heart,
providing the kidneys with the necessary
oxygen and nutrients to perform their
functions.

Once the kidneys have filtered the blood,

removing waste products and excess
substances, the cleaned but now
deoxygenated blood is transported back
to the heart through the renal vein. This
vein connects to the vena cava, which is the
large vein that carries deoxygenated
blood from the body back to the heart.
The Urinary system The urinary system includes several
key components that work together to
remove waste from the body and
control urination.

The ureter is a tube that connects

each kidney to the bladder, located in
the lower abdomen(abdomen is the
part of the body that lies between the
chest and the pelvis).

This tube carries urine from the

kidneys, where it is formed, down to
the bladder.
The Urinary system Question: What are the
functions of the following?

• Bladder –
• Sphincter muscle –
• Urethra –
 The bladder is a hollow muscular organ that
stores urine. It expands as it fills with urine
The Urinary system and contracts during urination to push urine
out. The ability of the bladder to expand and
contract makes it crucial for temporarily
holding urine until it is convenient for it to be
expelled.
The sphincter muscles are located at the
junction between the bladder and the
urethra. These circular muscles are responsible
for controlling the passage of urine. They
stay contracted to hold urine in the bladder
and relax when it is time to urinate, allowing
urine to pass through the urethra.
Control over the urinary sphincters is
undeveloped in infants. Babies do not have
voluntary control over urination. Adults can
typically control when they urinate due to the
developed internal and external urinary
sphincters and greater neurological control.
The Urinary system

The urethra is another tube that serves as

the final pathway for urine to leave the
body. Its primary function is to transport urine
from the bladder to the outside during
urination.
Explain how the kidneys contribute to
maintaining the balance of water and ions in
the body. Why is this function important for
overall health?
Thank you.