ANIMAL EXCRETION

Some of the substances are useful but others , called excretory substances, are useless or even damaging Waste produced by the cells (excretory substances) must be removed from the body Excretion usually refers to the removal of urine by the kidneys but should also include the lungs and skin as organs that get rid of waste gas or substances

1)

Carbon Dioxide
Carbon dioxide is formed in all body cells as a waste product of aerobic respiration Most of the bodys carbon dioxide is excreted at the lung surface into the alveolar air spaces, but a small proportion follows an alternative course and is excreted by the kidneys in the form of hydrogencarbonate ions (HCO3-)

2) Nitrogenous waste from protein metabolism Surplus amino acids in the diet cannot be stored by the body but are broken down by the liver through the process called deamination In this process, the nitrogen-containing NH2 amino group of each amino acid molecule is removed and ammonia is formed. This substance is highly toxic and must be removed immediately

3) Water and inorganic ions Water enters the body by drinking and eating and is also a product of aerobic respiration Inorganic ions are present in the diet and are absorbed from the intestines The relative amounts of water and inorganic ions retained in the body are controlled by the kidneys, which regulate the osmatic concentration of the blood, at the same time excreting the waste and surplus materials The skin also loses water and inorganic ions by producing sweat, but this is secondary to the function of temperature control and is not a method of osmoregulation

4) Bilirubin Bilirubin is the yellow pigment which results from the breakdown of haemoglobin It is extracted from the blood by the hepatocyte cells of the liver and excreted in the bile

5) Products of detoxication Hormones, antibiotics like penicillin, other drugs and many poisons are removed from the general circulation and made harmless or detoxified by the liver Some of the substances produced are excreted by the kidneys

Kidney
Skin Lung

 Kidney

through which urine is eliminated Skin eliminates water and salts in sweat Lung expel water vapor and carbon dioxide Feces is not considered to be excretion since faeces is indigestible food and not metabolic waste

 Aquatic

animals usually excrete ammonia directly into the external environment Mammals excrete nitrogenous wastes in the form of urea Birds excrete their nitrogenous wastes as uric acid in the form of a paste Insects a system involving Malpighian tubules is utilized to excrete metabolic waste

 Excretion

removing toxic waste products from the blood. Eg : urea and ammonium compounds Osmoregulation keeping the osmotic concentration of the blood constant by getting rid of excess salts and water Maintaining blood pH regulating the excretion of H+ and other ions to adjust pH Regulating blood volume controlling the amount of water lost in urine

Human

kidneys are bean shaped organs about 12 cm long and 7 cm wide Located on the dorsal wall of lumbar region of the abdomen Covered by a layer of fat and loosely joined to the dorsal body wall by connective tissue

 The

main parts of a kidney: 1) Cortex the outer layer 2) Medulla the inner layer 3) Pelvis the funnel-shaped space

The

outer cortex has a dark red colour while, inside this layer, the medulla is paler and the collecting funnel, or pelvis, of the ureter is white


1. 2. 3.

The three important process in the formation of urine are: Ultrafiltration Selective reabsorption Secretion

 The

afferent arteriole which sends blood to the glomerulus has a larger diameter than that of the efferent arteriole Therefore, blood from the afferent arteriole enters the glomerulus under a high hydrostatic pressure As blood flows across the glomerulus some of the plasma constituents filters through the capillary walls into the Bowmans capsule by a process called ultrafiltration

 It

is called ultrafiltration because the pores in the glomerulus capillary walls are very small and can only filter off small molecules from the blood The filtrate which filter into the Bowmans capsule consists mainly of small molecules, water,mineral salts,glucose,amino acid,urea and other nitrogenous waste products. Blood cell,platelets and macromolecules such as proteins and fats are not filtered off, but remain in the glomerulus capillaries. From the Bowmans capsule,the filtrate goes down the proximal convoluted tubule

 Selective

reabsorption is the movement of selected components from the tubule back into the blood capillary network A large portion of the reabsorption occurs at the proximal convoluted tubule into the capillary network surrounding it

 At

the proximal convoluted tubule selective reabsorption of these components in the filtrate takes place : i) water is reabsorbed by osmosis ii) all the glucose, amino acids and vitamins by active transport iii) urea and the nitrogenous excretory substances are not reabsorbed here

 At

the descending limb of the Loop of Henle, water is reabsorbed by osmosis At the ascending limb of the Loop of Henle, Na+ and Cl- ions are actively transported out of the ascending limb and move passively into the descending limb It creates a concentration gradient across the medulla, there is a lower ion concentration gradient at the top of the ascending limb and a much higher ion concentration gradient at the bottom

 This

is the reason as to why water is reabsorbed osmotically at the descending limb of the Loop of Henle At the distal convoluted tubule, more water, Na+ and Cl- ions are reabsorbed

 Secretion

is the movement of substances that are not filtered out from the capillaries into the kidney tubule These substances are actively transported from the tubular lining cells into the filtrate Secretion occurs at the proximal and the distal convoluted tubules Some of the substances secreted are K+, H+, NH4 + ions and other substances that are not needed by the body

main functions of secretion are: i) to get rid of certain substances ii) to regulate the blood pH (between 7.35 and 7.45) Finally, urine from the collecting ducts drips into the pelvis and passes via the ureter to the bladder and is stored there The bladder holds approximately 400500cm3 of urine, and once about 200 cm3 of urine is collected, stretch receptors are stimulated to produce a desire to urinate

Process
Reabsorption by active transport Reabsorption by passive transport Secretion by active transport

Proximal Loop of tubule Henle

Glucose, Na+, Clamino acids, (ascending Na+, Cllimb) Water, HCO3-

Distal tubule
Na+, Cl-, HCO3-

Collecting duct
Na+, Cl-

Water Water (descending limb) K+, H+

Water, urea (in the presence of ADH) -

NH4+, H+, some drugs and poisons

 Osmoregulation

is the regulation of osmotic pressure in the internal environment Osmosis is important to ensure that the interstitial fluid and the cell sap are isotonic to each other, thus avoiding either crenation or haemolysis

 Variables

affecting osmoregulation: 1) Osmotic pressure in blood plasma depends on the ratio of water to the dissolved salts, particularly sodium chloride 2) To control osmotic pressure, the ratio of the volume of water to sodium chloride needs to be controlled

 The

kidneys play an important role in osmoregulation 2 important hormones in osmoregulation are : 1) Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) 2) Aldosterone ADH is produced by the hypothalamus and stored in the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland

 When

a person consumes too much salt, drinks insufficient water or sweats too much, the concentration of blood rises and blood osmotic pressure increases Osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus detect this increase in osmotic pressure and send impulses to the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland

 This

causes the pituitary gland to secrete more ADH into the bloodstream When ADH reaches the kidneys, it causes the walls of the distal convoluted tubule and the collecting duct to be more permeable to water, permitting more water to be reabsorbed into the medulla Consequently, blood osmotic pressure falls and hypertonic urine is produced

 When

a person drinks too much water, the concentration of blood decreases and blood osmotic pressure falls Osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus detect the fall in blood osmotic pressure and send impulses to the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland This causes the ptuitary gland to secrete less ADH into the bloodstream

 When

less ADH reaches the kidneys, the walls of the distal convoluted tubule and the collecting tubule become impermeable to water and less water is reabsorbed into the medulla Consequently, blood osmotic pressure rises and hypotonic urine is produced

 Kidney

failure is the failure of the kidney tubules to excrete water, sodium ions or urea, resulting in an over-accumulation of these substances in the blood If the glomeruli are damaged, plasma proteins will appear in the urine

 Kidney

failure may be caused by: 1) high blood pressure 2) Bacterial infection 3) Mechanical injury If one kidney fails to function, a person can still lead a normal life with the other healthy kidney

If

both kidneys fail to function, the patient can still continue to live by either 1) undergoing haemodialysis 2) having a kidney transplant

The

patients blood is pumped through a dialysis machine which filters the waste from the blood and returns the clean blood A dialysis patient has to spend nearly sixty hours each week attached to the machine

The most radical treatment for kidney disease Healthy people can live comfortably with only one kidney Therefore, their other kidney can be donated to a person with kidney disease The donor and patient must have very similar genetic structures in order for the patient to accept the new kidney without complications

 The

patient also receives anti-rejection drugs During a kidney transplant operation, the healthy kidney is placed in the abdomen of the patient and attached to the blood vessels and bladder The patients original kidneys are not removed

The Regulation Of Body Temperature: 1.The normal body temperature of a healthy person is: a) regulated at a norm of 370C b) important for the optimum functioning of enzymes high temperatures denature enzymes while low temperature suppress the rate of reaction

a) Receives impulses from thermoreceptors of both the skin and within body tissues b) Detects the temperature of blood flowing through the brain

 Thermoreceptors

in the hypothalamus detect the higher temperature and send impulses to the thermo-regulator centre in the hypothalamus The thermo-regulatory centre of the hypothalamus triggers effectors to increase heat loss and decrease heat production Consequently, body temperature returns to normal

 Thermoreceptors

in the hypothalamus detect the low temperature The thermo-regulatory centre of the hypothalamus triggers effectors to decrease heat loss and increase heat production Consequently, body temperature returns to normal

Effector

Response to low temperature

Vasoconstriction : Smooth muscles contract, constricting arterioles so that less heat is carried by bloodstream near the surface of the skin, thus reducing heat loss No sweat is produced

Response to high temperature

Vasodilation: Smooth muscles relax, dilating arterioles so that more heat is carried by bloodstream near the surface of the skin, thus increasing heat loss

Smooth muscles in the wall of arterioles near the skin

Sweat glands

Sweat glands secrete sweat onto surface of skin. When sweat evaporates, it removes heat from the body in the form of latent heat of vaporisation which cools the body down

Effector

Response to low temperature Hair erector muscles contract, raising skin hairs which trap an insulting layer of still, warm air next to the skin

Response to high temperature Hair erector muscles relax, lowering the skin hairs which allow air to circulate over the skin, encouraging convection and evaporation

Hair erector muscles

Skeletal muscles

Muscles contract and relax repeatedly (shiver) to generate heat from metabolism and from friction

No shivering

Effector

Response to low temperature

Response to high temperature

Adrenal medulla glands

Glands secrete Secretion of adrenaline is more adrenaline. greatly reduced Adrenaline converts glycogen to glucose which raises the metabolic rate and generates more heat

Thyroid gland

The thyroid gland Secretion of thyroxine is secretes more greatly reduced thyroxine. Thyroxine increases the rate of metabolism which generates extra heat