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Encyclopedia > Excretory system

The excretory system is an organ system that performs the function of excretion, the bodily process of discharging wastes. It is responsible for the elimination of the waste products of metabolism as well as other non-useful materials. The main components of the excretory system are your two kidneys, two tubes that carry urine called ureters, the bladder, and the urethra. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The kidneys are important excretory organs in vertebrates. ...

Contents

Outline of the excretory system

Stylised diagram of insect digestive tract showing malpighian tubule (Orthopteran type) The Malpighian tubule system is a type of excretory and osmoregulatory system found in some Uniramia (Arthropods and Myriapoda) and arachnids. ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - spiders,scorpions, etc. ... The menstrual cycle is the periodic change in a womans body that occurs every month between puberty and menopause and that relates to reproduction. ...

Lungs

Lungs are two organs localized on each side of the thorax. They are constituted by pulmonary alveoli. They are responsible for converting oxygen into carbon dioxide, but to maintain life supporting levels of these two gases in blood stream by excreting the extra carbon dioxide and keeping a regular supply of oxygen. Each and all organism's cells can take the oxygen through passive diffusion from the bloodstream and use it in its own metabolism, thus producing carbon dioxide that will be further excreted when passing through alveoli circulation. The heart and lungs (from an older edition of Grays Anatomy) The lung is an organ belonging to the respiratory system and interfacing to the circulatory system of air-breathing vertebrates. ... Diagram of a tsetse fly, showing the head, thorax and abdomen The thorax is a division of an animals body that lies between the head and the abdomen. ... Alveolus redirects here. ... This article is about the chemical element and its most stable form, or dioxygen. ... Carbon dioxide (chemical formula: ) is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. ... Red blood cells (erythrocytes) are present in the blood and help carry oxygen to the rest of the cells in the body Blood is a circulating tissue composed of fluid plasma and cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets). ... A cell is a single unit or compartment, enclosed by a border or wall. ... diffusion (disambiguation). ...


Bladder

The human bladder is an organ that helps with the passing of urine and excerment. On average the human bladder holds 500 mL. The bladder is also an organ that stretchs like a rubber band this is why some bladders hold more than others.


Skin

The skin is another part of the excretory system, containing sweat that help regulate the concentration in one’s body while also keeping him or her cool. The salt helps evaporate the water, cooling off the skin. Sweat is excreted through sweat glands. There are two types of sweat glands: eccrine sweat glands and apocrine sweat glands. The basic purpose of skin is to provide a waterproof, protective, covering for the body's complex internal environment. The skin also plays a key role in helping to maintain the circulatory and nervous system.


Eccrine Sweat Glands

The eccrine sweat glands secrete mostly water and salt and are used by the body for temperature control. These glands are located all around the body but are most profuse around the soles of the feet, palms of the hands, and the forehead. A diagrammatic sectional view of the skin (magnified). ...


Liver

The liver is a vital part of the excretory system, and the human body. It regulates glycogen storage, plasma protein synthesis, and drug detoxification. The liver secretes bile, a base used for breaking down fats. Therefore, it helps get rid of unneeded wastes in the body. It changes toxic ammonia, which is a poisonous gas, to urea, a harmless fluid. The kidney filters urea (a mix of sugar and waste) into a liquid called urine. The liver is the largest gland in the body.


Kidney

The most important organs of the excretory system are the kidneys. The kidneys are placed on either side of the spinal column near the lower back. The kidneys are bean-shaped and they have an important job. They are responsible for removing wastes from the blood and they also keep your blood pressure in check and help with the making of red blood cells. The kidneys filter the blood and remove any wastes. The Kidney does this via its three lauers which are the Cortex, the medulla and the pelvis. In the Cortex and Medulla there are Nephrons. These Nephrons comprise of a Glomerulus (bundle of capilaries), a Bowman's Capsule, a Proximal Convoluted Tubuale, the decending and ascending Loop of Henle, the Distal Convoluted Tubual and Collecting Ducts. The collecting ducts come together in the Pelvis. When your body gets ready to pass waste products, it goes through the kidneys and mixes with water and urine. Then, the waste travels into the bladder through tubes. These tubes are called Ureters. Now, the bladder holds all of that urine until it feels so full that you need to get rid of it. That's called urination. When this happens, a tube called the Urethra takes the urine to the outside of the body. Kidneys viewed from behind with spine removed The kidneys are bean-shaped excretory organs in vertebrates. ...


Bile

Bile is a substance secreted by the abdomin and used for breaking wastes, with the help of estrogen. It is composed of water, cholesterol, lecithin, bicarbonate ions, bile salts, and pigments. Bile is a strong basic substance, classified as alkaline. It is released through bile ducts in the liver. Bile is a digestive chemical that is produce in the liver, stored in the gall bladder,and secreted in the small intestine. The kidney's main roles are to control the blood PH, filter all kind of wastes and remove urea from the blood and produced in to urine.


Bile is capable of breaking down fats that is the strongness of the chemicals and acid in bile


The process by which animals rid themselves of waste products and of the nitrogenous by-products of metabolism. Through excretion organisms control osmotic pressure—the balance between inorganic ions and water—and maintain acid-base balance. The process thus promotes homeostasis, the constancy of the organism's internal environment.


Every organism, from the smallest protist to the largest mammal, must rid itself of the potentially harmful by-products of its own vital activities. This process in living things is called elimination, which may be considered to encompass all of the various mechanisms and processes by which life forms dispose of or throw off waste products, toxic substances, and dead portions of the organism. The nature of the process and of the specialized structures developed for waste disposal vary greatly with the size and complexity of the organism.


Four terms are commonly associated with waste-disposal processes and are often used interchangeably, though not always correctly: excretion, secretion, egestion, and elimination.


Excretion is a general term referring to the separation and throwing off of waste materials or toxic substances from the cells and tissues of a plant or animal.


The separation, elaboration, and elimination of certain products arising from cellular functions in multicellular organisms is called secretion. Though these substances may be a waste product of the cell producing them, they are frequently useful to other cells of the organism. Examples of secretions are the digestive enzymes produced by intestinal and pancreatic tissue cells of vertebrate animals, the hormones synthesized by specialized glandular cells of plants and animals, and sweat secreted by glandular cells in the skins of some mammals. Secretion implies that the chemical compounds being secreted were synthesized by specialized cells and that they are of functional value to the organism. The disposal of common waste products should not, therefore, be considered to be of a secretory nature.


Egestion is the act of excreting unusable or undigested material from a cell, as in the case of single-celled organisms, or from the digestive tract of multicellular animals.


As defined above, elimination broadly defines the mechanisms of waste disposal by living systems at all levels of complexity. The term may be used interchangeably with excretion. The waste then travels to anus and is released.


See also

The major systems of the human body consist of: Circulatory system Digestive system Endocrine system Immune system Integumentary system Lymphatic system Muscular system Nervous system Reproductive system Respiratory system Skeletal system Urinary system Category: ...

References

External links

The Excretory System is a very crucial part of your entire body. It contains organs such as your liver, gallbladder, kidneys, and many others. These organs are used to eliminate wastes and excess water from your body. List of bones of the human skeleton Human anatomy is primarily the scientific study of the morphology of the adult human body. ... For transport in plants, see Vascular tissue. ... what was here was sick and improperly spelled. ... The endocrine system is an integrated system of small organs that involve the release of extracellular signaling molecules known as hormones. ... A scanning electron microscope image of a single neutrophil (yellow), engulfing anthrax bacteria (orange). ... In zootomy, the integumentary system is the external covering of the body, comprising the skin, hair, scales, nails, sweat glands and their products (sweat and mucus). ... The lymphatic system is a complex network of lymphoid organs, lymph nodes, lymph ducts, lymphatic tissues, lymph capillaries and lymph vessels that produce and transport lymph fluid from tissues to the circulatory system. ... The muscular system is the anatomical system of a species that allows it to move. ... The nervous system is a highly specialized network whose principal components are nerves called neurons. ... -1... Among quadrupeds, the respiratory system generally includes tubes, such as the bronchi, used to carry air to the lungs, where gas exchange takes place. ... Front view of a skeleton of an adult human Back view of a skeleton of an adult human The human skeleton consists of both fused and individual bones supported and supplemented by ligaments, tendons, muscles and cartilage. ... The urinary system is the organ system that produces, stores, and eliminates urine. ...


  Results from FactBites:
 
Excretory System (1224 words)
The excretory system is responsible for regulating water balance in various body fluids.
The urinary system is made-up of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra.
Human excretory system and the details of the kidney.
  More results at FactBites »


 

COMMENTARY     

brad (canada)
21st November 2008
needs a diagram
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