Excretion

Structure of the kidney, the nephron

Excretion is the removal from organisms of toxic materials, the waste
products of metabolism, and substances in excess of requirements
(carbon dioxide, urea, salts…).

Common misconceptions
Remember that faeces are not an example of excretion – it is mainly
undigested material that has passed through the gut, but which has not
been made in the body. The only excretory materials in it are bile
pigments.

The relative position of the ureters, bladder, and urethra in the body

Examiner’s tip
Make sure you can label the diagram showing the relative positions of the
kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. The spellings of the ureter and urethra
are really important.
Structure of a kidney

The kidney has 3 main parts: the cortex,

medulla, and pelvis. Leading from the pelvis is
a tube, called the ureter. The ureter carries
urine that the kidney has made to the bladder.

Kidneys are made up of thousands of tiny

tubules, or nephrons. Each nephron begins in
the cortex, loops down into the medulla, back
into the cortex, and then goes down again
through the medulla to the pelvis. In the
pelvis, the nephrons join up with the ureter.

ASSIGNMENT
Figure on the right shows the human urinary system

a) Name parts X, Y and Z. [3 marks]

b) Name the blood vessel that carries blood from the aorta to the
kidneys. [1 mark]
c) Suggest two differences between the composition of the blood flowing to the
kidneys and the blood flowing away from the kidneys. [2 marks]

Urinary system the nephron

Function of the kidney - filtration and reabsorption

The function of the kidney is to filter blood, remove urea and excess H2O, and
reabsorb glucose, some H2O, and some mineral salts.

Urine is made by filtration and selective reabsorption

• As blood passes through the kidneys, it is filtered. This removes most of the
urea from it, and also excess H2O and salts.
• As this liquid moves through the kidneys, any glucose in it is reabsorbed
back into the blood. Most of the H2O is also reabsorbed along with some of
the salts.
Remove from blood Reabsorb into the blood

• most urea • all glucose

• excess H2O • most H2O
• excess salts • some salts

The final liquid produced by the kidneys is a solution of urea and salts in water. It is
called urine and flows out of the kidneys, along the ureters, and into the bladder. It
is stored in the bladder for a while, before being released from the body through
the urethra.

Filtration happens in renal capsules

Blood is brought to the renal capsule in a renal artery branch. Small molecules,
including water and most of the things dissolved in it, are squeezed out of the blood
into the renal capsule.

There are thousands of renal capsules in the cortex of each kidney. Each one
is shaped like a cup. It has a tangle of blood capillaries, called a glomerulus, in the
middle. The blood vessels bringing blood to each glomerulus are quite wide, but
the one taking blood away is narrow. This means that the blood in the glomerulus
cannot get away easily. Quite a high pressure builds up, squeezing the blood in the
glomerulus against the capillary walls.

These walls have small holes in them. So, do the walls of the renal capsules. Any
molecules small enough to go through these holes will be squeezed through, into
the space in the renal capsule.
Only small molecules can go through. These include water, salt, glucose, and urea.
Most protein molecules are too big, so they stay in the blood, along with the blood
cells.

Useful substances are reabsorbed

The fluid in the renal capsule is a solution of glucose, salts, and urea dissolved in
water. Some of the substances in this fluid are needed by the body. All of the
glucose, some of the water, and some of the salts need to be kept in the blood.
Wrapped around each kidney tubule are blood capillaries. Useful substances from
the fluid in the kidney tubule are reabsorbed and passed back into the blood in
these capillaries.

The remaining fluid continues on its way along the tubule. By the time it reaches the
collecting duct, it is mostly water, with urea and salts dissolved. It is called urine.
The kidneys are extremely efficient at reabsorbing water. Over 99% of the water
entering the tubules is reabsorbed.

The relative amount of water reabsorbed depends on the state of hydration of the
body (how much water is in the blood), and is controlled by the secretion of the
hormone ADH.
• On a hot day: we sweat more to cool down à the body needs to conserve
water à produce a small amount of concentrated urine.
 • On a cold day: little sweat is being produced à we tend to produce a larger
volume of dilute urine.
Filtered blood returns to the vena cava (main vein) via a renal vein. The urine
formed in the kidney passes down a ureter into the bladder, where it is stored. A
sphincter muscle controls the release of urine through the urethra.
Urea formation, breakdown of alcohol & drugs in the liver

Surplus amino acids in the bloodstream cannot be stored. They are removed by
the liver and broken down into the urea (which is the nitrogen-containing part of
the amino acid) and a sugar residue, which can be respired to release energy. The
breakdown of amino acids is called deamination.

Urea is returned to the bloodstream (into the hepatic vein) and filtered out when it
reaches the kidneys.

The body treats alcohol as a poison. The liver removes poisons, such as alcohol
and drugs, from the blood and breaks them down. Prolonged and excessive use
of alcohol damages the liver and may cause it to fail. An overdose of drugs, such
as paracetamol, can result in death due to liver failure because the liver cannot
cope with breaking down such a high concentration of the chemical.

The liver also converts hormones into inactive compounds. These are filtered out of
the blood by the kidneys.

Dialysis and its application in kidney machines

The usual treatment for a person with kidney failure is to have several sessions a
week using a dialysis unit (a kidney machine), to maintain the glucose and
protein concentration in blood diffusion of urea from blood to dialysis fluid.
Dialysis is a method of removing one or more components from a solution using the
process of diffusion. The solution is separated from a bathing liquid contains none
of the components that need to be removed from the solution, so these pass from
the solution, through the membrane, into the bathing dilution by diffusion. The
bathing solution needs to be changed regularly to maintain a concentration
gradient.
 Kidney dialysis.

A patient with kidney failure needs to have toxic chemicals removed from the
blood to stay alive. Blood is removed from a vein in the arm, and is kept moving
through dialysis tubing in the dialysis machine using a pump. The tubing is very
long to provide a large surface area. The dialysis fluid has a composition similar to
blood plasma but with no urea or uric acid. Urea or uric acid and excess mineral
salts are removed from the blood, by diffusion, into the dialysis fluid. The cleaned
blood is then passed through a bubble trap to remove any air bubbles, before
being returned to the patient’s vein.

How kidney dialysis works.

Advantages and disadvantages of kidney transplants compared with dialysis.

Advantages
• The patients can return to a normal lifestyle – dialysis may require a
lengthy session in hospital, 3 times a week, leaving the patient very tired
after each session.
 • A dialysis machine will be available for other patients to use.
• Dialysis machines are expensive to buy and maintain.
Disadvantages
• Transplants require a suitable donor – with a good tissue match. The donor
may be a dead person or a close living relative who is prepared to donate a
healthy kidney (we can survive with one kidney_.
• The operation is very expensive.
• There is a risk of rejection of the donated kidney – immunosuppression
drugs have to be used.
• Transplantation is not accepted by some religions.