Biology 13

13.1.
1 Excretion in Humans
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Excretion of Carbon Dioxide & Urea

 Unlike plants, humans have organs which are specialised for the removal of certain
excretory products
 They include the lungs and kidneys
 The liver also has a vital role in excretion
Organs involved in excretion

 Excretion is the removal of the waste substances of metabolic reactions (the

chemical reactions that take place inside cells), toxic materials and substances in
excess of requirements
 Carbon dioxide must be excreted as it dissolves in water easily to form an acidic
solution which can lower the pH of cells
 This can reduce the activity of enzymes in the body which are essential for
controlling the rate of metabolic reactions
 For this reason, too much carbon dioxide in the body is toxic
 Urea is also toxic to the body in higher concentrations and so must be excreted
The urinary system in humans
Main structures involved:
Exam Tip
Note the difference between the ‘ureter’ and the ‘urethra’. These two names are commonly
confused by students so take care to learn them and know which tube is which – they are
NOT interchangeable!
13.1.2 The Kidney

The Kidney & the Nephron: Extended

 The kidneys are located in the back of the abdomen and have two important functions
in the body:
o They regulate the water content of the blood (vital for maintaining blood
pressure)
o They excrete the toxic waste products of metabolism (such as urea) and
substances in excess of requirements (such as salts)

The structure of a human kidney

Waste substances
The Nephron
 Each kidney contains around a million tiny structures called nephrons, also known
as kidney tubules or renal tubules
 The nephrons start in the cortex of the kidney, loop down into the medulla and back
up to the cortex
 The contents of the nephrons drain into the innermost part of the kidney and the urine
collects there before it flows into the ureter to be carried to the bladder for storage
Structure of a nephron
1) Ultrafiltration
Diagram showing the process of ultrafiltration
 Arterioles branch off the renal artery and lead to each nephron, where they form a
knot of capillaries (the glomerulus) sitting inside the cup-shaped Bowman’s capsule
 The capillaries get narrower as they get further into the glomerulus which increases
the pressure on the blood moving through them (which is already at high pressure
because it is coming directly from the renal artery which is connected to the aorta)
 This eventually causes the smaller molecules being carried in the blood to be forced
out of the capillaries and into the Bowman’s capsule, where they form what is
known as the filtrate
 This process is known as ultrafiltration
 The substances forced out of the capillaries are: glucose, water, urea, salts
 Some of these are useful and will be reabsorbed back into the blood further down
the nephron
Components of filtrate:
2) Selective Reabsorption
Reabsorption of Glucose
Diagram showing the reabsorption of glucose
 After the glomerular filtrate enters the Bowman’s Capsule, glucose is the first
substance to be reabsorbed at the proximal (first) convoluted tubule
 This takes place by active transport
 The nephron is adapted for this by having many mitochondria to provide energy for
the active transport of glucose molecules
 Reabsorption of glucose cannot take place anywhere else in the nephron as the
gates that facilitate the active transport of glucose are only found in the proximal
convoluted tubule
 In a person with a normal blood glucose level, there are enough gates present to
remove all of the glucose from the filtrate back into the blood
 People with diabetes cannot control their blood glucose levels and they are often very
high, meaning that not all of the glucose filtered out can be reabsorbed into the blood
in the proximal convoluted tubule
 As there is nowhere else for the glucose to be reabsorbed, it continues in the filtrate
and ends up in the urine
 This is why one of the first tests a doctor may do to check if someone is diabetic is to
test their urine for the presence of glucose
Reabsorption of Water & Salts
 As the filtrate drips through the Loop of Henle necessary salts are reabsorbed back
into the blood by diffusion and active transport
 As salts are reabsorbed back into the blood, water follows by osmosis
 Water is also reabsorbed from the collecting duct in different amounts depending on
how much water the body needs at that time
13.1.3 The Role of the Liver in Excretion

Excretion by Deamination of Amino Acids: Extended

 Many digested food molecules absorbed into the blood in the small intestine are
carried to the liver for assimilation (when food molecules are converted to other
molecules that the body needs)
 These include amino acids, which are used to build proteins such as fibrinogen, a
protein found in blood plasma that is important in blood clotting
 Excess amino acids absorbed in the blood that are not needed to make
proteins cannot be stored, so they are broken down in a process called deamination
o The amino group of all amino acids - NH2 (which contains the nitrogen
atoms) is removed, hence the term de-amin(o)-ation
 Enzymes in the liver split up the amino acid molecules
 The part of the molecule which contains carbon is turned into glycogen and stored
 The other part, which contains nitrogen, is turned into ammonia, which is highly
toxic, and so is immediately converted into urea, which is less toxic
 The urea dissolves in the blood and is taken to the kidney to be excreted
 A small amount is also excreted in sweat
Amino acid groups
 In deamination, the nitrogen-containing amino group is removed and converted into

ammonia and then urea to be excreted
 The toxic consequences of high urea levels, if it is not excreted effectively, are very
serious:
o Cell death
o Reduced response to insulin, leading to diabetes
o Deposits inside blood vessels
Exam Tip
Excretion and egestion are two terms that often get confused:
Excretion is the removal from the body of waste products of metabolic reactions, toxic
substances and substances in excess of requirements.
Egestion is the expulsion of undigested food waste from the anus.

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13.1.

Excretion of Carbon Dioxide & Urea

Organs involved in excretion

 Excretion is the removal of the waste substances of metabolic reactions (the

Main structures involved:

13.1.2 The Kidney

The Kidney & the Nephron: Extended

The structure of a human kidney

Reabsorption of Water & Salts

13.1.3 The Role of the Liver in Excretion

Excretion by Deamination of Amino Acids: Extended

 In deamination, the nitrogen-containing amino group is removed and converted into

Egestion is the expulsion of undigested food waste from the anus.

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