Excretory System Flashcards
What is excretion?
Any process which gets rid of unwanted metabolic waste
What products do we excrete?
Carbon dioxide
Water
Mineral salts
Nitrogenous compounds
What are nitrogenous compounds?
Ammonia
Urea
Uris acid
Creatinine
What kinds of excretion does carbon dioxide use?
Aerobic
The lungs
How is water excreted?
Aerobic respiration, lungs
Osmoregulation, kidneys
How are mineral salts excreted?
Osmoregulation
Kidneys
Skin
How are nitrogenous compounds excreted?
During the production of urine
Kidneys
What are the four components of the excretory system?
Kidneys
Ureter
Bladder
Urethra
What is a kidney?
A bean shaped organ situated in the pelvis. It filters waste products from the body
What is the function of the kidney?
Regulates the blood:pH Electrolytes Pressure Amount of oxygen (production of RBC) Volume Filters waste products out of the blood (nitrogenous) Form urine
What is the function of the ureter?
To carry urine to the bladder
What is the function of the bladder?
A temporary storage area for urine, after it has been filtered by the kidney, but before it leaves the body
What is the function of the urethra?
Carries urine outside of the body
What is filtrate?
The first stage of urine
What is the first stage when filtering through the nephrons?
Through the membrane of the glomerulus
What is the second stage of filtration through the nephrons?
The useful substances that were filtered out of the blood in the first stage I.e. Glucose, some amino acids, and other useful dissolved things are reabsorbed
Where does dirty blood enter the nephron from?
Afferent arteriole
Where does clean blood exit the nephron from?
Efferent arteriole
What is a podocyte?
Cells in the membrane of a nephron
They have gaps in between them
Called filtration slits
How is the first filtration system in a nephron made more efficient?
Increase the surface area
Thin membrane
Low pressure in nephron
High pressure in capillary
How do the nephrons create the correct pressure?
The efferent arteriole has a small diameter
The pressure behind the efferent arteriole increases
What does convoluted mean?
Curved, bent, twisted
What is the cortex?
The outer layer of the kidney
What does the cortex contain?
About 1 million Malpighian bodies
What is the medulla?
The inner layer of the kidney
What does the medulla look like?
It is divided into cone shaped pyramids
They have a striated appearance