Excretion: Disposal of Nitrogenous Wastes ammonia is too toxic to be stored land animals must...

6
Excretion : Disposal of Nitrogenous Wastes • ammonia is too toxic to be stored • land animals must dispose of Nitrogen in different form: Urea or Uric Acid • Urea can be stored in conc’d. form but requires water for disposal

Transcript of Excretion: Disposal of Nitrogenous Wastes ammonia is too toxic to be stored land animals must...

Excretion: Disposal of Nitrogenous Wastes

• ammonia is too toxic to be stored

• land animals must dispose of Nitrogen in different form: Urea or Uric Acid

• Urea can be stored in conc’d. form but requires water for disposal

• Uric acid allows for water conservation

The Workhorse of the Excretory System: the Kidney

Kidneys filter the blood, helping to regulate the amount of water and salts in the body’s fluids, and thus maintaining homeostasis.

The Nephron is the functional unit of the Kidney

Details of Nephron Structure

The key functions of the excretory system are:

• Filtration• Reabsorption (from filtrate to blood)• Secretion (from blood to filtrate)• Excretion

Reabsorption & Secretion in a Nephron