LIFE PROCESS – EXCREATION
Excretion
is the biological process by which living organisms remove waste products and
toxic substances from their bodies. In class 10 science, this topic typically covers
the excretory systems of both humans and plants.
# Excretion in Humans:
The main excretory organ in humans is the kidney, which filters waste
products from the blood to produce urine.
The human excretory system also includes the ureters, which carry urine from
the kidneys to the urinary bladder, where it is stored, and the urethra, which
releases urine from the body.
Nephrons: are the functional units of the kidney, responsible for filtering
blood and producing urine.
Excretion in humans: also involves other organs like the skin (for sweat) and
lungs (for carbon dioxide).
Excretion in Plants:
Gaseous wastes: like carbon dioxide and oxygen are removed through the
stomata and lenticels.
Excess water: is eliminated through transpiration.
Solid wastes: can be stored in old leaves, bark, or vacuoles and are removed when
these parts are shed.
Key Concepts:
Metabolic waste: Waste products generated by the body's chemical reactions.
Osmoregulation: The process of maintaining the right amount of water and
proper ionic balance in the body.
Egestion: The process of removing undigested food material, which is different
from excretion
�Excretion — Class 10 Summary
�What is Excretion?
Excretion is the biological process by which waste products and toxic materials
are removed from the body of an organism.
Why is it important?
Metabolic activities produce waste like urea, CO₂, water, etc. If not removed,
these wastes can be harmful.
�Human Excretory System
Main parts:
Kidneys – filter the blood to remove urea, excess salts, and water.
Ureters – tubes that carry urine from kidneys to the bladder.
Urinary Bladder – stores urine temporarily.
Urethra – tube that carries urine out of the body.
�Formation of Urine
Ultrafiltration – in the glomerulus/Bowman’s capsule.
Selective Reabsorption – useful substances (like glucose, some water, salts) are
reabsorbed in the tubules.
Tubular Secretion – additional wastes are secreted into the tubule.
Urine – is collected in the collecting ducts and flows to the bladder.
�Excretion in Plants
No special organs.
Waste products: oxygen (from photosynthesis), CO₂ (from respiration), water,
resins, gums.
Stored in old leaves, bark, or released as gases.
�Important terms:
Nephron: Basic structural and functional unit of the kidney.
Glomerulus: Network of capillaries for filtration.
Bowman’s capsule: Cup-like structure around glomerulus.
Dialysis: Artificial removal of waste from blood when kidneys fail.
Excretory System Organs
The human excretory system organs include:
A pair of kidneys
A pair of ureters
A urinary bladder
A urethra
Kidneys
Kidneys are bean-shaped structures located on either side of the backbone and
are protected by the ribs and muscles of the back. Each human adult kidney has a
length of 10-12 cm, a width of 5-7 cm and weighs around 120-170g.
The kidneys have an inner concave structure. The blood vessels, ureter and
nerves enter the kidneys through the hilum, which is a notch at the inner concave
surface of the kidney. The renal pelvis, a large funnel-shaped space is present
inner to the hilum, is has many projections known as calyces.
Structure of Kidney
The structure of the kidney is explained below:
Capsule
The outer layer is called the capsule. Inside the kidney, there are two zones- the
outer zone is the cortex and the inner zone is the medulla. The cortex extends in
between the medullary pyramids as renal columns called columns of Bertin.
Nephrons
Nephrons are the functional units of the kidney. Each nephron has two parts-
glomerulus and renal tubule.
Glomerulus consists of a bunch of capillaries formed by afferent arterioles. Blood
from glomerulus is carried away by efferent arterioles.
The renal tubule starts with a cup-like structure called Bowman’s capsule and this
encloses the glomerulus. The malpighian body consists of glomerulus and
Bowman’s capsule. The highly coiled structure in the tubule next to the Bowman’s
capsule is the proximal convoluted tubule.
Explore more: Nephrons
Henle’s loop
The next part of the tubule is Henle’s loop which has an ascending and a
descending limb. The ascending loop continues as a distal convoluted tubule. The
distal convoluted tubules of many nephrons open into the collecting duct.
The cortical region of the kidney comprises of malpighian corpuscle, proximal
convoluted tubule and distal convoluted tubule and the medullary region contains
a loop of Henle.
There are two types of nephrons – cortical and juxtamedullary. In the case of
cortical, the loop of Henle is very short and extends only a little into the medulla.
In juxtamedullary, the loop of Henle is very long and runs deep into the medulla.
Ureter
A pair of thin muscular tubes called the ureter comes out of each kidney
extending from the renal pelvis. It carries urine from the kidney to the urinary
bladder.
Urinary Bladder
It is a muscular sac-like structure, which stores urine. The urinary bladder is
emptied by the process of micturition, i.e. the act of urination.
Urethra
This tube arises from the urinary bladder and helps to expel urine out of the body.
In males, it acts as the common route for sperms and urine. Its opening is guarded
by sphincter muscles.
