Component 3- Kidneys Flashcards
What happens to excess amino acids
- Not stored in the body
- Broken down by the liver through deamination
What is deamination
An amine group is removed from an amino acid and converted into ammonia
What happens to the remainder of the amino acid after deamination
Considered a keto acid which is respired or converted to a carbohydrate or lipid to be stored
What are the different forms of nitrogenous waste
Ammonia
Urea
Uric acid
Describe ammonia
Small, soluble and highly toxic
Must be excreted immediately
It cannot be stored
Highly soluble
What form of nitrogenous waste do fresh water fish excrete?
Ammonia
As they have to remove a large volume of water
Most of it diffuses from the gills
Describe urea
Less toxic than ammonia
Can be stored for a period of time in the tissue
Requires less water to dilute down to a safe level
Energetically expensive
What form of nitrogenous waste do mammals excrete?
Urea
Describe uric acid
Low toxicity
Can be stored for long periods of time
Little water needed to store it and dilute it to safe levels
Energetically expensive
Organisms that excrete uric acid?
Reptiles Birds Insects Allows them to survive in arid environments Reduces their mass
Where does deamination of amino acids occur in mammals
Mainly in the liver
What are the two main functions of the kidney
The excretion of urea
Osmoregulation
Why is glucagon produced
When the glucose has gone
What raises and lowers blood glucose
Glucagon raises
Insulin lowers
What is excretion
The removal of metabolic waste made by the body
