3.4.

6 The Excretory System in the Human

Objectives What you will need to know from this
section
Explain the role of the excretory system in
homeostasis -- the ability and necessity to
maintain constancy of body temperature, fluid
balance and chemistry.
State the function, location, products of the
skin/lungs/urinary
system.
Outline the basic macrostructure & function for
urinary
excretory system - Kidney/Ureters/Urinary
Bladder/Urethra

 Explain the role of Kidney in regulating body

fluids.
Describe the processes of filtration , reabsorption
and
secretion in the medulla & renal pelvis.
Describe pathway of urine from kidney to urethra
Refer to the different methods of temperature
regulation in animals -- Ectotherms and
Endotherms
Explain temperature regulation in humans.

3.4.6 The Excretory System in the Human

Excretion is the removal of waste products of metabolism from
the body.
The excretory system plays a role in homeostasis:
(i) by maintaining the composition of an organism's fluids,
including fluid balance and chemistry.
(ii) by preventing the accumulation of poisonous wastes which
might interfere with metabolism.

Reminder: Homeostasis is the

maintenance of a constant internal
environment within the body.

OUR EXCRETORY SYSTEM

 The main waste products are water, carbon dioxide and

nitrogenous (nitrogen-containing) wastes.
In the liver, excess amino acids are split into a carbohydrate
and urea.

The lungs remove carbon dioxide and water.

The sweat glands excrete water and some salts.
The kidneys remove most of the rest, including the urea.

LEARNING CHECK
What is excretion?
What role does excretion play in
homeostasis in the body?
Name the main waste products of the body.
Name the main excretory organs of the
body.

Homeostasis Water Levels in the

Body
Being a land animal, we have a continuous need to
conserve water.
Water must be taken in daily and its loss must be carefully
regulated.
Water is taken in as food and drink, and is also formed
inside the cells during some reactions, especially
respiration.
Water is lost from the body through our lungs, skin,
intestines and kidneys.

Water is lost from the body through a number of ways:

Lungs some water gets evaporated as we exhale from our
warm, damp lungs.
Skin by evaporation from cells and through sweat.
Intestines in the faeces (undigested food).
Kidneys in dissolving the poisons and wastes we wish to
excrete from the body.

 We have no control
over the amount of
water lost each day
from the lungs, skin or
intestines.

So the kidneys are

the water control
(osmoregulatory)
organs of the body
conserving or
eliminating water as
the body requires.

 The urinary system consists of the kidneys, the bladder and

some ducts (tubes).

 A section through the kidney shows an outer darker region

(cortex) and a lighter inner zone (medulla).

Pelvis

Cortex

Medulla
Ureter

LEARNING CHECK
Identify Cortex, Medulla, Pelvis, Ureter

D
A

B
C

A = Cortex

B = Medulla

C = Ureter

D = Pelvis

KIDNEY LS

 The kidneys work by filtering the blood and then absorbing

back what the body needs to keep. The wastes are allowed
pass to the bladder, for storage and release.
Filtration

Pelvis

Cortex

Reabsorption

Medulla
Ureter

As urine is produced, it flows into the renal pelvis, then into the
ureter, to the bladder.

Main processes in the kidney

FiltrationIn the outer cortex,
small molecules like glucose,
amino acids, water, urea and
salts filter out of the blood into
narrow tubules.
Reabsorptionblood vessels in the cortex and medulla
reabsorb back useful nutrients from the tubules. Urea, excess
salts and water, are allowed to continue down the tubule and
on to the bladder.
Secretion- Some substances are secreted from the blood into
the cortex of the kidney eg Potassium and Hydrogen ions
Too much K prevents nerve impulses travelling
H makes the blood acidic

 The bladder stores the urine, which flows through the

urethra to the outside.

Urine is composed of about 96% water, urea, salt, and

traces of other substances such as hormones.

LEARNING CHECK
Identify Site(s) of Filtration and Reabsorption

Filtration

Pelvis

Cortex

Reabsorption

Medulla
Ureter

LEARNING CHECK

What is filtration?
What is reabsorption?
What is secretion?
What is the difference between the kidney
and the bladder?
What is urine?

LEARNING CHECK
Identify Site(s) of Filtration and Reabsorption

Filtration

Pelvis

Cortex

Reabsorption

Medulla
Ureter

LEARNING CHECK
Name the ways we gain water.
Name the ways we lose water.
What is osmoregulation?

Temperature Regulation
Temperature influences the rate of enzyme-controlled
reactions that sustain life.
Mammals and birds are endotherms (warm blooded): their
source of heat is internal [from their own metabolic heat].

They can operate in low temperature environments, as they

can keep the rate of enzyme activity high.

 Most animals are ectotherms (cold blooded) they lose or

gain heat by moving into areas where temperature is
suitable, e.g. fish, amphibians, reptiles.

3.4.6

---

Body temperature

Control of body temperature is an example of how

homeostasis works in humans.
Our normal core body temperature is maintained at 37C,
the heat being mainly produced from metabolism in the liver.
Muscles, skin and blood all play a role in controlling body
temperature.

Role of Skin in Homeostasis

-- Temperature Regulation
Role of Skin as Excretory Organ
removal of sweat

The SKIN

 If our temperature
rises

more blood flows close to surface of skin so heat is lost

by radiation;
glands release sweat (a weak salt solution) onto the
surface of the skinthis perspiration cools the skin, by
taking away some of the body heat when it evaporates.
This loss of water, as sweat, must be replacedthat is why it
is important to drink water before, during and after exercising
to maintain the balance of water and salts in the body.

 If our temperature rises, more blood flows close to

surface of the skin and glands release sweat.

 If our
temperature
drops

blood leaves the surface layers and flows beneath the

adipose (fat) tissue which insulates us, so less heat is
lost through the skin surface;
we stop sweating;
hairs stand up (causing goose bumps) to try and
insulate us with air;
we shiver (muscles contract to generate extra heat).

 If our temperature drops, blood flows beneath the adipose

tissue, we stop sweating, our hairs stand up and we
shiver.

LEARNING CHECK
Controlling body temperature
Body temperature is controlled by the thermo-regulatory centre in the
________. It is kept at 370C as this is the best temperature for
__________ to work in. If the body becomes too hot then blood
vessels _________ and sweat glands release ________. If the body is
too ______ then blood vessels constrict and muscles start to
__________.

Words

sweat, enzymes, cold, dilate, shiver, brain

LEARNING CHECK

What is an endotherm?
What is an ectotherm?
List the functions of the skin.
What is our normal body temperature?
What happens whern we get too hot ?
What happens when we get too cold?
What part of the brain detects changes in
our temperature?

Higher Level
The nephron

H 3.4.8 The Nephron as a Unit of Kidney Function

Objectives What you will need
to know from this section
Outline the structure & associated blood supply
& draw a diagram.
Explain urine formation, including: Bowman's
capsule/glomerulus/ proximal convoluted
tubule/Loop of Henle/distal convoluted
tubule/pelvis/bladder
Outline the sites & action of reabsorbing
glucose/amino acids/salts/water
State that reabsorbing water occurs in the
collecting duct & is under the influence of ADH.

 A section through the kidney shows an outer darker region

(cortex) and a lighter inner zone (medulla).

Pelvis

Cortex

Medulla
Ureter

KIDNEY LS

H 3.4.8 The Nephron as a Unit of Kidney Function

The structural
and functional
unit of the
kidney is the
nephron.

The renal artery

divides into afferent
arterioles and then into
a capillary network
(glomerulus) at the top
of each nephron.

NEPHRON

1. Filtration
The renal artery divides into afferent arterioles and then into
a capillary network (glomerulus) at the top of each nephron.
A cup-shaped funnel (Bowmans capsule) surrounds each
glomerulus and it is here that smaller molecules in the blood
are forced, under pressure, out of the plasma and into the
lumen of Bowmans capsule, forming the glomerular filtrate.
The blood pressure is high
because the efferent arteriole
is narrower than the afferent
arteriole, so force-filtering the
plasma.
Everything except large proteins and blood cells gets filtered.

2. Reabsorption
The body cannot afford to lose useful chemicals like food and
water, so as the glomerular filtrate passes from the
Bowman's capsule into the proximal convoluted tubule,
glucose, amino acids, some salts and water are reabsorbed
back into the blood.
The food molecules,
including most of the salt
ions, are taken back by
active transport (against the
concentration gradient, so
energy is needed for this).
Most of the water is
reabsorbed by osmosis
from the Loop of Henle and
convoluted tubules.

 Urea and other wastes, along with some water, are not
reabsorbed. They pass, as urine, into the pelvis of the kidney
and to the bladder for storage. Of the 180L of blood filtered
each day, about 99 % of the filtrate is reabsorbed.

LEARNING CHECK

Name the parts of the nephron

Where does filtration takes place?
What does not get filtered
Where does reabsorption take place?
What substances are reabsorbed?
What are not reabsorbed?
List some substances present in urine.

 The kidney regulates the amount of water in the body by

varying the amount of urine produced.
This is known as osmoregulation, and it is an example of
homeostasis.

ADH [Anti-diuretic hormone]

controls whether the distal
tubule and collecting ducts
reabsorb water or not.

If you drink a great deal of water

the hypothalamus in the brain detects the diluted
blood and turns off ADH production.
Less water is reabsorbed, so more water is allowed
to escape to the bladder,
and a larger volume of dilute urine is produced.

When the body is low on water

ADH is secreted from the pituitary gland.
More water is reabsorbed
and only a small volume of urine is produced.

 When the body has excess water, ADH is NOT secreted from
the pituitary gland. Less water is reabsorbed and so a larger
volume of urine is produced.
If Water Levels Rise in the Body ..

 When the body is low on water, ADH is secreted from the

pituitary gland. More water is reabsorbed and only a small
volume of urine is produced.
If Water Levels Fall in the Body..

LEARNING CHECK
What is ADH?
Where is it made and where does it act?
Explain what happens in a nephron where
we take in a lot of fluid.
Explain what happens in each nephron
when we have not taken in fluid for many
hours.