Excretion Flashcards
What 3 products can be excreted?
- Carbon dioxide
- Nitrogen-containing compounds e.g. Urea
- others e.g. bile pigments found in faeces
What is Excretion?
The removal of metabolic waste from the body
What is metabolic waste?
A substance produced in excess by the metabolic processes in the cells, it may become toxic
Carbon dioxide’s 3 fact profile
○ Harmful in excess (disturb pH balance)
○ Carried in blood buffer system
○ Removed by lungs
Nitrogenous wastes 3 fact file
○ Excess amino acids deaminated in liver
○ Converted into ammonia then urea
○ Urea excreted in urine by kidney
What kind of blood does the hepatic artery carry?
Oxygenated blood
What kind of blood does the hepatic portal vein?
Deoxygenated blood
What else, other than deoxygenated blood, does the hepatic portal vein carry?
Products of digestion
Through what does blood exit the Liver?
Via the hepatic vein
Where does oxygenated and deoxygenated mix?
In the Sinusoids
What are cells of the Liver called?
Hepatocytes
How are hepatocytes structured?
Cuboidal with microvilli
What are Kupffer cells?
Specialised macrophages in sinusoids
What do Kupffer cells do?
Break down old RBC’s into Bilirubin
Describe the process of Deamination
Amino acids —> Keto acids + Ammonia
Summarise the ornithine cycle
- Ammonia + CO2 —> Urea
- Urea is excreted by the kidney
How is sugar stored in the liver?
In the form of Glycogen. It forms granules in the cytoplasm of the hepatocytes
What two enzymes do liver cells contain that render toxic molecules less toxic?
Catalase and Cytochrome P450
What does the enzyme catalase do to make toxic molecules less toxic?
It turns hydrogen peroxide to oxygen and water
What is the ‘Nephron’ part of the Kidney?
The functional unit
What does the Nephron do?
Filters waste from the blood
What is the outer region of the Kidney called?
The cortex
What is the inner region of the Kidney called?
The medulla
What is the centre of the Kidney called?
The Pelvis, which leads to the ureter
What is the function of the Bowman’s capsule/
Ultrafiltration
What is the function of the Proximal Convoluted Tubule?
Selective reabsorption including glucose reabsorption
What is the function of the Loop of Henle?
Water reabsorption
What is the function of the Distal Convoluted Tubule?
Osmoregulation
Name the 4 Blood vessels in the Kidney
- Glomerulus
- Afferent arteriole
- Efferent arteriole
- Peritubular capillaries
What happens in the Proximal Convoluted Tubule (PCT)?
- Reabsorption of salts, glucose and H2O
- 85% of water reabsorbed here
What happens in the descending limb?
- Salts added; water removed
- Water potential increases
What happens in the ascending limb?
- Salts removed (active)
- Water potential increases