The Winning Edge

RIMC 2023 Batch

Subject - GK (Biology)
Notes

Topic - Excretory System in Humans

EXCRETION
Various activities always go on inside the body of a living being. These activities are
collectively called metabolism. Many harmful substances are created during
metabolic activities. These substances can prove lethal if not removed from the body
in time. Removal of waste from the
body is called excretion.

Excretory System

Excretory system consists of the

following organs

 A pair of kidneys
 Ureters
 Urinary bladder
 Urethra

KIDNEY: Kidneys are bean-shaped,

about 10 centimetres long. They work
like filters. Blood, laden with waste
materials enters the kidney. The waste is
filtered from the blood and the purified
blood is sent to the normal circulation. The waste, along with water, is
transferred to the urinary bladder through the ureters. The content of the
ureter is called urine. Urine contains 95% water, 2.5% urea and 2.5% other
wastes. Urine is expelled out from time to time.

The kidneys are located just above the waist on either side of the backbone. The
right kidney is placed slightly above the left. It measures about 10 cm long, 5 cm
wide and 4cm thick, weighing about 135 to 150 gms., constituting 1% of body
weight. Its inner concavity called hilum.

Ureter, Blood vessels, nerve etc. enter or leave the kidney through hilus
(hilum).Remains covered by peritoneium only on the ventral or front side hence
termed as retroperitoneal. A narrow tube called the ureter runs from the inner side
of each kidney.
The ureters, in turn, are connected to a large sac called the urinary bladder. Urine is
collected and stored in the urinary bladder.

Leading from the bladder is another muscular tube called the urethra, which works
as the outlet passage.

The end of the urethra is normally held closed by means of a ring of muscle (a
sphincter), which controls the release of urine from the bladder.

Urine drains continuously out of the kidney into the ureters where it is forced
downwards into the bladder by wave-like contractions of the ureter walls. The
bladder stretches and expands in volume as it fills with urine, and when it is nearly
full the stretching stimulates sensory nerve endings in its walls so that nerve impulses
are sent to the brain. This is how a person knows when his bladder must be emptied.
The sphincter muscle around the urethra is then voluntarily (i.e., consciously) relaxed
to let urine drain from the bladder, through the urethra, and out of the body. This is
called urination.

”The waste material is separated by the kidneys from the blood which is fed into it
through the renal artery. The cleaner blood after the removal of wastes is sent back
through the renal vein.

Structure of Kidneys
 A kidney in section shows a
dark-coloured outer zone
called the cortex, and a pale-
coloured inner zone called the
medulla. Each kidney is made
of a large number of excretory
units called nephrons.
 Each nephron consists of two
parts - a rounded, cup-shaped
body called the Bowman’s
capsule, and the tubular part
or the collecting tubule.
 Bowman’s capsule contains a
ball of finely-divided and
intertwined blood capillaries which are formed by the repeated branching of
the renal artery. These structures are called glomeruli (singular glomerulus).
  The blood capillaries bring waste and excess water from body to the kidneys.
 The medulla is distinct by the presence of 15-16 conical pyramids with
broader end towards cortex. Each pyramid ends as renal papilla where
many ducts of Bellini converge to open. The renal papilla fits over small
funnel-like minor calyx, 2 to 3 minor calyces together open in still wider
funnel called major calyx.

Ureter
Narrow distensible tube, emerging from the hilus is basically a metanephric
duct, lined with transitional epithelium. Being muscular it also undergoes
peristalsis to pass urine from kidney to urinary bladder.

Urinary bladder :
Bladder. This triangle-shaped, hollow organ is located in the lower abdomen.
It is held in place by ligaments that are attached to other organs and the
pelvic bones. The bladder's walls relax and expand to store urine, and contract
and flatten to empty urine through the urethra. The typical healthy adult
bladder can store up to two cups of urine for two to five hours.

 Single, median, pyriform bag (300-800 ml) in the pelvic area has upper body
with two openings of ureter and lower trigone leading to urethra and guarded
by sphincter.
 Wall is stretchable, muscular and lined with stratified transitional epithelium.

Sumeet Kaur
[email protected]
 Urethra :
This tube allows urine to pass outside the body. The brain signals the bladder
muscles to tighten, which squeezes urine out of the bladder. At the same time,
the brain signals the sphincter muscles to relax to let urine exit the bladder
through the urethra. When all the signals occur in the correct order, normal
urination occurs.

 The tube emerging from urinary bladder to release urine having sphincters at
both ends.
 In women it is a short (4 cm) tube opening separately below clitoris in the
vulva.
 In man it is long (20 cm) tube also serving as reproductive tract; divided into
three parts : the upper prostatic part; the middle membranous part and the
lower penile part.

Two sphincter muscles. These circular muscles help keep urine from
leaking by closing tightly like a rubber band around the opening of the
bladder.

Nerves in the bladder. The nerves alert a person when it is time to urinate,
or empty the bladder.

What filters blood and produces urine in the kidney?

The kidneys remove urea from the blood through tiny filtering units
called nephrons. Each nephron consists of a ball formed of small blood
capillaries, called a glomerulus, and a small tube called a renal tubule.
Urea, together with water and other waste substances, forms the urine as it
passes through the nephrons and down the renal tubules of the kidney.

Which organs help in the removal of excess salts from the human
body?

Kidneys and skin help in the removal of excess salts from the body. Sweat
glands regulate temperature and remove excess water, sodium salts, and
nitrogenous wastes (such as urea) onto the skin surface. Kidneys filter waste
products like urea, salts, vitamins and other harmful substances from blood.

Sumeet Kaur
 [email protected]

Facts about urine

o Normal, healthy urine is a pale straw or transparent yellow color.

o Darker yellow or honey colored urine means you need more water.
o A darker, brownish color may indicate a liver problem or severe dehydration.
o Pinkish or red urine may mean blood in the urine.
o An adult human being normally passes about 1–1.8 L of urine in 24
o hours. The urine consists of 95% water, 2.5% urea and 2.5% other waste
o products.

Type of waste and mode of excretion: Protein is made up of nitrogen. Metabolism

of protein creates nitrogenous wastes in the body. The nitrogenous waste is the main
waste in animals. The nitrogenous waste takes different forms in different animals.
These are, ammonia, urea and uric acid. Fish excrete waste substances such as
ammonia which directly dissolve in water. Birds, insects and lizard excrete uric acid in
semi-solid form.

Based on the type of nitrogenous waste, animals can be divided into following
categories:

AMMONOTELIC: Ammonia is the main nitrogenous waste in these animals. Lot of

water is required for removal of ammonia. Ammonotelism is present in aquatic
animals, e.g. fish, frogs, etc.

UREOTELISM: Urea is the main nitrogenous waste in these animals. Less water is
required for removal of urea. Ureotelism is present in mammals.

URECOTELISM: Uric acid is the main nitrogenous waste in these animals. Removal of
uric acid requires negligible amount of water. Urecotelism is present in reptiles and
aves.

Note: Some of the wastes are removed along with sweat. Carbon dioxide is an
important waste which is removed through the lungs.

Which is the main excretory organ in humans?

Answer: Kidneys

Which is the main excretory product in humans?

Answer: Urea
Organs of excretion include the skin, liver, large intestine, lungs, and kidneys. All of
them excrete wastes, and together they make up the excretory system.

Important Points to Remember

Excretion is the process of removing wastes and excess water from the
body. It is an essential process in all living things and a major way the
human body maintains homeostasis.
The skin plays a role in excretion through the production of sweat by
sweat glands. Sweating eliminates excess water and salts, as well as a
small amount of urea, a byproduct of protein catabolism.
The liver is a very important organ of excretion. The liver breaks down
many substances in the blood, including toxins. The liver also excretes
bilirubin — a waste product of hemoglobin catabolism — in bile. Bile
then travels to the small intestine, and is eventually excreted in feces by
the large intestine.
The main excretory function of the large intestine is to eliminate solid
waste that remains after food is digested and water is extracted from the
indigestible matter. The large intestine also collects and excretes wastes
from throughout the body, including bilirubin in bile.
The lungs are responsible for the excretion of gaseous wastes, primarily
carbon dioxide from cellular respiration in cells throughout the body.
Exhaled air also contains water vapor and trace levels of some other
waste gases.
The paired kidneys are often considered the main organs of excretion.
Their primary function is the elimination of excess water and wastes from
the bloodstream by the production of urine. The kidneys contain tiny
structures called nephrons that filter materials out of the blood, return to
the blood what is needed, and excrete the rest as urine. The kidneys are
part of the urinary system, which also includes the ureters, urinary
bladder, and urethra.

Sumeet Kaur
[email protected]
25 March 2023