Chapter 3: Excretion

Form 3 Science
 Excretion

Human excretion Plant excretion

Excretory organs & Urinary system Excretory products

its excretory -Kidney (Structure, & methods of
products function) excretion
 What is excretion?
When chemical reaction takes place in cell, waste materials
are produced. These waste materials are useless and can
turn toxic if accumulated in the body cells. Therefore, waste
materials must be eliminated from the body to ensure the
good health of the organism.

The process of eliminating waste materials from the body is

known as excretion.
 Metabolism use up O2, glucose, amino acids, water, nutrients
and produces waste products (CO2, H2O,urea,heat, toxic
chemicals).

When present in high conc., excretory/waste products

become toxic!!!

Therefore, waste products must be excreted from the body.

Excretory organs: skin, lungs, kidneys

 Excretory products

1. CO2 is excreted via lungs

2. Excess H2O is excreted mainly via kidney and also

through lungs and skin.

3. Urea is excreted via kidney.

4. Excess heat is excreted via skin, kidney, and lungs.

 Excretory organs
1. Skin
Excrete waste products in the form of sweat.
How? Sweat gland absorbs excretory products (H2O,
mineral salts, urea) from blood capillaries around it.
Sweat is eliminated from sweat gland through sweat
pores to the skin surface.
2. Lung
Eliminate CO2 and H2O
CO2 in blood capillaries diffuses into the alveolus and is
eliminated from the lungs when exhaling.
H2O is eliminated from the lungs in the form of water
vapour.
3. Kidney
Many substances are eliminated in large
quantities through kidney.
Function: filter blood and produce urine.
Urine: yellowish liquid that contains water,
minerals salts and urea.
Urinary System in Human

1. Main organs in urinary

system are kidneys.
2. Human have 2
kidneys(left & right)
which is bean-shape and
are reddish brown due to
the enormous blood
supply.
3. Consists of
A pair of kidneys
A pair of ureters
A urinary bladder
Urethra
 Structure of kidney
Kidney is made up of 3 parts: cortex, medulla, pelvis
Cortex is the outer layer of kidneys made up of many blood
capillaries (darker color)
Medulla is the section below cortex (brighter color)
projects inwards to form a pyramid. Pyramid in turn slants
into pelvis.
Pelvis is the funnel-shaped cavity that connects to the
ureter.
 Renal artery carries blood to kidneys. This blood is rich in water, urea and
dissolved mineral salts.

Renal vein carries blood away from renal vein.

Blood is filter within kidney.

Waste products (urea) and excess substances (mineral salts, H2O) are
converted into urine.

Ureters carry urine from kidneys to urinary bladder.

Urinary bladder stores urine and gradually expands like balloon.

When muscles in the wall of bladder contract, urine is expelled to exterior

via urethra.

This process is called urination.

 The urinary bladder functions to store this excretory product
temporarily. When it is full, the excretory product will be
eliminated out of the body through the urethra.

This excretory product will be discharged in the form of liquid

which is coloured yellow known as urine.

The formation and discharge of urine is simplified as follow:

Kidney Ureter urinary bladder urethra

 Functions of kidney
1. Removing excretory materials in the form of urine. Urine
contains nitrogenous substances such as urea, ammonia and
uric acid.
2. Urea is formed from carbon dioxide and ammonia while
ammonia is the breakdown of protein in the liver. Therefore, the
removal of urea can maintain the pH balance in the blood.

3. Reabsorbing materials such as mineral salts, glucose and amino

acid required by the body from the blood and so control the blood
concentration equilibrium.

4. Eliminating chemical compounds from blood for example, toxin,

alcohol and drugs. The accumulation of toxic materials in the
blood can result in death.
 Kidney Failure
Eg: Urinary tract infection, kidney stone, kidney infection, diabetic
nephropathy, hypertension, glomerulonephritis, HIV nephropathy

Kidney failure happens when they do not work properly. This could
be due to infections caused by microorganisms.

A blockage in ureter and urethra can cause damage to the kidneys

because urine cannot flow out of the body.

A person who has only one kidney still can live normally.

If both kidneys fail, the person will have to rely on an artificial

kidney machine called the dialysis machine to remove wastes from
the blood.
Kidney stone
Staghorn stones are often
caused by infection. They
may grow until they fill up
the entire kidney.

Stones form in the kidney

calyx.

Some stones move to the

kidney pelvis, blocking the
flow of urine.
Stones often lodge in the
ureter. This irritates tissue,
block urine flow and can
make urine bloody.
 Dialysis
The process of filtering and cleansing the blood using a dialysis
machine.

Dialysis removes excess water and wastes through a semi-permeable

membrane. A semi-permeable membranes has pores which allow
urea and salts to go through. Larger particles such as blood cells,
bacteria, viruses or protein cannot pass through this membrane.

The common dialysis method is hemodialysis where waste products

and excess water are separated artificially from the patients blood by
diffusion and ultrafiltration.
 Hemodialysis
3-4 times a week; 2-4 hours each time
Machine filters blood and returns it to the body.
 Excretion in plants
plants also perform excretion to remove excretory materials
such as H2O,O2 & CO2.
H2O is excreted during transpiration and cellular respiration,
O2 during photosynthesis, while CO2 during cellular
respiration
 Animal (Human being) Excretion Plant

Skin, lungs, kidneys Excretory organs No particular organs

H2O, CO2, urea, mineral Excretory materials H2O, O2, CO2, latex, gum,
salt, other nitrogenous acid, resin, oil, alkaloid
materials

Perspiration, discharging Method of excretion Photosynthesis,

of urine, cellular transpiration, cellular
respiration respiration

CO2 is absorbed by Uses of excretory O2 is absorbed by living

green plants to carry out materials things for cellular
photosysthesis respiration