5.2 Flashcards
what is excretion
the removal of metabolic waste from the body
what is metabolic waste
defined as a substance that is produced in excess as a result of metabolic processes in cells
what is egestion
the process of removing undigested food
why is it important that metabolic waste substances are removed
need to be removed before they become too toxic
what does the lungs remove
co2
what does the liver remove
urea, hydrogen peroxide, detoxification of drugs and alcohol
what does the kidneys remove
urea
what does the skin remove
urea, uric acid and ammonia
what substance is excreted in the lungs, and why is it important for homeostasis
-removes CO2
-important for homeostasis because if CO2 builds up, the pH of tissue fluid changes which will disrupt the action of enzymes and other proteins
what substances are excreted in the liver, and why is it important for homeostasis
-removes excess amino acids ( converted to urea by removing the nitrogen containing parts with co2[demination]), urea, hydrogen peroxide, harmful substances, alcohol, drugs, unwanted hormones
-important for homeostasis because excess amino acids could change pH of cells as they are acids
what substance is excreted in the kidneys, and why is it important for homeostasis
-removes urea (removed as urine)
-important for homeostasis because it maintains water pot~~
what substance is excreted in the skin, and why is it important for homeostasis
-removes uric acid (produced from the breakdown of purines), urea and ammonia
-important for homeostasis because body temp needs to be maintained (sweating) and water pot needs to be maintained
what things act in the blood as buffers to resist change in pH
-proteins (such as haemoglobin)
what is respiratory acidosis and what is it caused by
-occurs when blood pH drops below 7.35 leading to a rapid heart rate and changes in blood pressure.
-respiratory acidosis can be caused by diseases or conditions that affect the lungs itself such as emphysema, asthma etc… Blockage of the airway can also cause it
amino acids contain almost as much energy as carbohydrates thus wasteful to simply excrete amino acids, what happens instead?
instead they are transported to the liver and the potentially toxic amino group is removed (demination)
in the body the amino group initially forms________, what is this then converted to and what does this lead to
in the body the amino group initially forms ammonia (this is very soluble and highly toxic), this is then converted to a less soluble and less toxic compound called urea, which can be transported to the kidneys for excretion
In amino acids, what can the remaining keto acid be used directly in?
can be used directly in respiration to release its energy or may be converted to a carbohydrate or fat for storage
state the equation of deamination
amino acid + oxygen -> keto acid + ammonia
how is urea formed ( equation)
ammonia + carbon dioxide -> urea + water
what are liver cells called
hepatocytes
the liver has many metabolic roles and is important in homeostasis, what does this mean it needs
a good supply of blood is needed
the internal structure of the liver ensures that as much blood as possible flows past as many liver cells as possible, what does this enable the liver to do
enables the liver cells to remove excess or unwanted substances from the blood to ensure concentrations are maintained
what two sources supply the liver with blood
-the hepatic artery
-the hepatic portal vein
state stuff about the hepatic artery which supplies blood to the liver
and why is the hepatic artery important to the liver
oxygenated blood from the heart travels from the aorta via the hepatic artery into the liver. this supplies oxygen which is essential for aerobic respiration. It is important that the liver gas a good supply of oxygen for aerobic respiration because the liver cells are very active as they carry out many metabolic processes, many of these processes require energy in the form of ATP
state stuff about the hepatic portal vein which supplies blood to the liver
deoxygenated blood from the digestive system enters the liver via the hepatic portal vein. This blood is rich in the products of digestion. The concentrations of various substances will be uncontrolled as they have just entered the body from the products of digestion in the intestines. The blood may also contain toxic compounds that have been absorbed from the intestine. It is important that such substances do not continue to circulate around the body before their concentrations have been adjusted
what does blood leave via in the liver and what is it connected to
blood leaves via the hepatic vein, the hepatic vein re-joins the vena cava and the blood returns to the body’s normal circulation
the 4th vessel connected to the liver is the bile duct, what is bile and what does the bile duct do?
-bile is a secretion from the liver which has functions in digestion and excretion. The bile duct carries bile from the liver to the fall bladder, where it is stored until required to aid the digestion of fats in the small intestine.
what does bile contain
some excretory products such as bile pigments like bilirubin, which will leave the body with the faeces.
how are the cells, blood vessels and chambers inside the liver arranged
they are arranged to ensure greatest possible contact between blood and the liver cells. The liver is divided into lobes which are further divided into lobules. The lobules are cylindrical
label the liver
pic
lable the liver cells
pic
label the cylindrical lobule
pic
what is the difference between the inter-lobular vessels and the intra-lobular vessels
inter lobular vessels are smaller branches of the hepatic portal vein and hepatic artery which run along between lobules.
intra lobular vessels are smaller branches of the hepatic vein.
what happens to to the vessels once the hepatic artery and hepatic portal vein enter the liver
they split into smaller vessels and run parallel to the lobules ( inter-lobular vessels)
what is a sinusoid and what’s its function
a special chamber that carries a mix of the blood from the intra and inter lobular vessels
what are Kupffer cells and what are their function
they are specialized macrophages that move about within the sinusoids. Their primary functions to breakdown and recycle old red blood cells
Kupffer cells break down old red blood cells, what is one of the products of hemoglobin breakdown?
hemoglobin breakdown forms bilirubin which is one of the bile pigments excreted as part of the bile.
bile is made in the _______ and released into the _______
1= liver
2= bile canaliculi
bile canaliculi join to form the ______
bile duct
what does the bile duct do
transports bile to the gall bladder
what has happened to the blood once it has reached the end of the sinusoid
the concentrations of many of its components have been modified and regulated
what is at the center of each lobule
at the center of each lobule is a branch of the hepatic vein known as the intra-lobular vessel.
what vessel do sinusoids empty into
the intra-lobular vessel
what joins together to form the hepatic vein and what does the hepatic vein do?
the hepatic vein is formed from branches of the hepatic vein from different lobules joining together.
-the hepatic vein drains blood from the liver
are liver cells specialized?
No- they are relatively unspecialized
state the shape of liver cells (hepatocytes) and what is on their surface
they have a simple cuboidal shape with many microvilli on their surface
liver cells have many metabolic functions, name some
-protein synthesis
-transformation and storage of carbohydrates
-synthesis of cholesterol and bile salts
-detoxification
liver cells have many metabolic functions, due to this, describe the nature of their cytoplasm
their cytoplasm must be very dense and is specialized in the numbers of organelles that it contains
the liver is metabolically very active, what functions does it carry out
-control of blood glucose levels, amino acid levels, lipid levels
-synthesis of bile, plasma proteins, cholesterol
-synthesis of red blood cells in the fetus
-storage of vitamins A, D and B12, iron, glycogen
-detoxification of alcohol, drugs
-breakdown of hormones
destruction of red blood cells
how does the liver store sugar (explain)
in the form of glycogen, the glycogen forms granules in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes
what substances should be detoxified in the liver
hydrogen peroxide or alcohol
what are the methods to render toxins as harmless in the liver
toxins are rendered harmless by oxidation, reduction, methylation or by combination with another molecule
what molecule allows liver cells to render toxins harmless
a great array of enzymes
what are the two enzymes in the liver that render toxins harmless
- catalase
-cytochrome P450
describe the role of catalase in the liver
converts hydrogen peroxide to oxygen and water. catalase has a particularly high turnover rate
describe the role of cytochrome P450 in the liver
its a group of enzymes used to breakdown drugs including cocaine and various medicinal drugs . The cytochromes are also used in other metabolic reactions such as electron transport during respiration. Their role in metabolising drugs can interfere with other metabolic roles and cause the unwanted side effects of some medicinal drugs.
order these from smallest to largest :
lobe, liver, lobule, hepatocyte
hepatocyte, lobule, lobe, liver
what are the two vessels supplying the liver and what do they carry
-hepatic portal vein- contains waste products- deoxygenated- contains products of digestion and toxins that have been absorbed by the intestine
-hepatic artery- comes from the aorta, the blood is oxygenated (from heart)
what’s the vein that takes blood away from the liver
the hepatic vein
what’s the 4th vessel connected to the liver
the bile duct
which enzyme converts ethanol into ethanal
ethanol dehydrogenase
which enzyme converts ethenal into ethanoic acid
ethenal deydrogenase
what else is made when converting ethanol to ethenal and ethanoic acid, what is this substance important for
forms reduced NAD (a coenzyme for respiration)
what else is made when converting ethanol to ethanol and ethanoic acid, what is this substance important for
forms reduced NAD (a coenzyme for respiration)
what is the last substance that is made in the detoxification of alcohol?
Acetyl coenzyme A
The last substance that is made in the detoxification of alcohol is acetyl coenzyme A, what is this used for
for respiration
how is reduced NAD formed
when 2H combines with NAD
NAD is used to break down fatty acids, if the liver has to detoxify too much alcohol, NAD is used up. what might happen to the fatty acids if the liver has insufficient NAD to deal with them? What might happen to the size of the liver as a result of this? What could this lead to?
fatty acids are converted to lipids and stored in hepatocytes as fat = enlarged liver (known as ‘fatty liver’)= hepatitis or cirrhosis
along with forming reduced NAD, what is NAD also required for
also required to oxidase and breakdown fatty acids for use in respiration.
what happens if the liver has to detoxify too much alcohol
it uses up stores of NAD and has insufficient left to deal with fatty acids
why cant excess amino acids be stored
becasue amino groups make them toxic
why would it be wasteful to excrete whole molecules of amino acids
because they contain a lot of energy
what treatments do excess amino acids undergo in the liver to remove and excrete the amino acid component
deamination followed by the ornithine cycle
describe the process of demination
-removal of amino group to produce ammonia
- a keto acid is also produced which can enter respiration directly to release its energy.
oxygen is added to the amino acid to produce keto acid and ammonia
describe the properties of ammonia
very soluble and highly toxic (this means it must be converted to a less toxic form very quickly)
why should urea be produced from ammonia instead of ammonia staying present
urea is both less soluble and and less toxic
once urea is formed from the ornithine cycle, where does it travel to
it can be passed back into the blood and transported around the body to the kidneys.
once urea reaches the kidneys, what happens to it?
at the kidneys, the urea is filtered out of the blood and concentrated in the urine. Urine can be stored in the bladder until released
what is the reaction summary in the ornithine cycle
ammonia + carbon dioxide –> urea + water
what is the ornithine cycle responsible for
for removing ammonia before it builds up
ornithine cycle:
what is ammonia combined with to make it less toxic, what does this produce
its combined with co2 and Ornithine to produce water and Citulline
ornithine cycle:
what is Citrulline then combined with
combined with nh3, producing h20 and Arginine
ornithine cycle: what occurs after the formation of Arginine
h20 is added, Arginine is then reconverted to Ornithine by the removal of urea ( urea is produced)
ornithine cycle:
once urea is produced in the liver, what does it do
the urea is transported to the kidneys by the blood in the hepatic vein. It is filtered out of the blood by the kidney’s and safely stored in the bladder.
what’s bigger, the hepatic portal vein or the hepatic artery?
the branch of hepatic portal vein
where is the kidney positioned in the body
each side of the spine just below the rib