EXCRETION:

DEFINITION:
 Excretion is the process of elimination of the harmful/ toxic substances out of the body to
maintain the normal function of the body.
 Excretory Organs:
1. Kidneys: The primary excretory organs excrete mainly water, water soluble nitrogenous and
other excretory products.
2. Lungs: Excrete carbon di-oxide, volatile substances, water vapour etc.
3. Liver: Bile pigments, heavy metals etc.
4. Skin: Water and salts in the form of sweat.
Kidney-the primary excretory organ:
 A pair of kidneys are present in the dorsal side of the abdominal cavity.
 Kidneys have a depression on its medial border through which renal artery, renal veins
nerves, ureter pass which is known as Hilum.
 Kidney is formed of uriniferous tubules-
A. Nephrons: responsible for urine formation.
B. Collecting ducts: passing urine from nephron to ureter.
Kidney has three layers-
a. Outer Cortex- dark, granular
b. Inner medulla- divided into medullary pyramids.
c. Renal Sinus- consisting of renal pelvis, major and minor calyces, nerves and arteries.

NEPHRON:
 Nephron is the structural and functional unit of kidney.
 Renal /Malpighian corpuscle:
a. Glomerulus: a tuft of capillaries arising from afferent arteriole, having slit pores in its
endothelial layer for filtration.
b. Bowman’s capsule: the dilated cup like end of primitive renal tubule enclosing the
glomerulus. The visceral layer envelops the capillary and parietal layer continues with the
wall of renal tubules.
 Renal tubules: long tubule divisible into three segments.
1. Proximal convoluted tubule.
2. Loop of Henle
3. Distal convoluted tubule.

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 TYPES OF NEPHRONS:
 There are two types of nephrons.
1. Cortical Nephrons: 85% present near the surface of kidney.
2. Juxta-medullary nephrons: 15% glomeruli of these nephrons are present in the junction of
cortex and medulla of the kidney.

RENAL TUBULE:
 PROXIMAL CONVLOUTED TUBULE: Lined by single layer of cuboidal epithelium having
brush border to facilitate reabsorption. Numerous peri-tubular capillaries surround PCT.
 Loop of Henle: Lined by cuboidal epithelial cells. Different segments are-
1. Thick descending limb
2. Thin descending limb
3. Hair pin loop
4. Thin ascending limb and
5. Thick ascending limb.
It helps in concentrating urine.
 Distal convoluted tubule:

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Lined by cuboidal epithelium without brush border. DCT reabsorbs, secrete and add new substances
to tubular fluid and concentrate it, thus help in urine formation. Water absorption here is controlled by
ADH or Vasopressin.
 Collecting Ducts:
Collecting ducts are lined by two types of cells-
Principal cells or P-cells: responsible for Na and water absorption.
Intercalated cells or I-cells: responsible for acid secretion and bicarbonate transport.

FUNCTIONS OF KIDNEY:
 Excretory: excrete metabolic waste products mainly urea, uric acid, creatinine, potassium and
hydrogen ion and excess water.
 Non-Excretory:
1. Homeostatic Function: regulates body fluid volume, body fluid composition and pH of the
body fluid.
2. Endocrine Function: secrete Renin, erythropoietin. Helps in formation of 1-25 DHCC from
Vit-D to maintain Calcium in body fluid.
3. Metabolic Function: During starvation release of glucose by gluconeogenesis.

JUXTA-GLOMERULAR APPARATUS:
 The JGA is a combination of specialized tubular and vascular cells located at the vascular
pole where the afferent and efferent arterioles enter and leave the glomerulus. It is considered
as the specialized organ of kidney.
 JGA consists of three kinds of cells-
1. Macula Densa: Specialized renal tubular epithelial cells located at the site where initial part of
DCT is passing through the angles between afferent and efferent arterioles of the glomerulus.
2. Extra-glomerular mesangial cells: These are the supporting cells of JGA are found between
capillary loops, i.e. surrounded by afferent arterioles and macula densa cells.
3. Juxta-glomerular cells: JG cells are modified smooth muscular cells present in the wall of the
afferent and efferent arterioles before entering the glomerulus.

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 RENAL CIRCULATION:

STRUCTURE OF GLOMERULAR MEMBRANE:

Glomerular membrane consists of 3 major layers-

1. Glomerular Capillary Endothelial Layer: It consists of flat and thin cell layer having pores of
50 -100 nm diameter called fenestrae through which blood corpuscles and plasma proteins
cannot pass.
2. Basement Membrane of Capillary Endothelial Cell Layer and Bowman’s Capsular Cell Layer:
Negative charged proteoglycans and collagens of it opposes the filtration of plasma proteins.
3. Visceral epithelial layer of Bowman’s capsule: consisting of podocytes having filtration slits.
GLOMERULAR FILTRATION MECHANISM:
1. FORCES THAT ALLOW FILTRATION:
 Hydrostatic pressure of blood: (P cap) present in glomerular capillary (45 mm Hg)
 Colloidal osmotic pressure in bowman’s capsule i.e. oncotic pressure of proteins (0 mm Hg)
2. FORCES THAT OPPOSE FILTRATION:

Glomerular capillary oncotic pressure: Colloidal osmotic pressure present in glomerular

Bowman’s capsular hydrostatic pressure: the pressure exerted by the filtrate present in
Bowman’s capsule (10 mm Hg).