Human Excretory

System
 Purpose

• To concentrate wastes
and expel them from
the body
• Regulate fluids and
water within the body
 The Urinary System
• Wastes are filtered from
blood into the kidneys and
sent to the bladder.
– Renal arteries pass
blood to the kidneys.
– Ureters pass urine to the
bladder.
• The bladder has a urinary
sphincter to control the
release of urine through the
urethra.
• The urethra is the tube used
*The kidneys can have as much as
to void the bladder.
25% of the body's blood at any given
time
• When the bladder contains 200 mL
of urine, it expands and stretch
receptors send signals to the brain
that it is time to urinate.

• Control of the urinary sphincter is

voluntary (choose whether or not
to void your bladder)

If you wait:
• At 400 mL the messages become
more frequent.
• At 600 mL voluntary control is
lost… good luck with that!!
 Urinalysis
• A diagnostic tool used to test
urine for any abnormalities.
• Colour, odour, pH, ketones, glucose, protein,
blood, and many more substances are tested
 Kidney Structure
*Kidneys are about the size
of a fist and have a mass of
0.5 kg.
• Cortex: outer layer of connective
tissue
• Medulla: inner layer under the cortex
• Renal pelvis: hollow chamber that
connects the kidney with the ureter
• Renal artery: delivers blood to
kidneys
• Renal vein: carries filtered blood
away
• The kidney has 1 000 000 small
functional units inside of it called
nephrons
Kidney Structure - Real

renal cortex – outside of kidney;

location of Bowman’s capsule

renal medulla (lobes) – middle of

kidney; location of loop of
Henle

renal pelvis – location of the

ends of collecting ducts
 Nephron
• Each nephron spans
the area of the
cortex and medulla.
 Nephron
• Comprised of
specialized blood
vessels and tubes that
wrap around each other
to filter wastes from the
blood and produce urine
 Blood flow through the Nephron
• Afferent arterioles Afferent Efferent
supply blood to the
kidney from the
renal artery.
• They end in a
capillary network
called the
glomerulus.
• Blood exits the glomerulus through efferent arterioles
• These lead to a network
of peritubular
capillaries which
surround the tubules of
the nephron.

• Peritubular capillaries
collect into the renal
venules and filtered
blood exits the kidney
through the renal vein.
 Glomerulus
• The glomerulus is
surrounded by the
Bowman's capsule
within the cortex of the
kidney.

• Fluids that are to be

processed as urine
enter the Bowman's
capsule from the blood
in the glomerulus.
 Fluid Flow in the Nephron
• The Bowman's capsule leads to a thin tubule called
the proximal tubule.
• Urine goes from the proximal tubule around the
loop of Henle (U shaped structure), which
descends into the medulla of the kidney.
• Urine then moves through the distal tubule and
into the collecting ducts, which collect urine from
many nephrons and lead into the renal pelvis of
the kidney.
• Urine exits through the ureter to the bladder
HOMEWORK:
• Read section 9.5
• Discuss how excretion takes place in invertebrates and
non-mammalian vertebrates:
– Single-celled (paramecium) and simple multicellular
organisms
– Invertebrates (earthworm, insects)
– Terrestrial reptiles and birds
• Draw a labelled diagram of a nephron. Include arrows
showing the direction of blood and fluid flow
– http://drawitneat.blogspot.com/2015/03/how-to-draw-nephron.html