Revision: Human Body >> Excretory System Biology ICSE ICSE Class 7 CISCE

Micturition is the process of expelling urine out of the body through the urethra by opening the sphincter muscles and passing urine, involving the relaxation of the sphincter muscles between the urinary bladder and urethra. 

• The process of removal of chemical wastes (mainly nitrogenous wastes) from the body is known as 'excretion' (ex: out, crete: flow).
• Excretion is the process of removal of harmful and unwanted nitrogenous waste products from the body.
• Excretion is defined as the process by which organisms expel metabolic waste products and other toxic substances from the body.

Organs which are concerned with the formation, storage and elimination of urine constitute the 'excretory system'.

The kidney while removing wastes like urea from the blood also regulates its composition, i.e., the percentage of water and salts. This function is called osmoregulation.

Excretion is the process that biological organisms use to expel or eliminate the waste products produced by their metabolism.

During different metabolic activities taking place in our body, the body produces many substances of which some are useful and some are useless.
If retained in the body the unwanted substances may become poisonous and cause much harm and in severe cases, even death. The organs which remove these unwanted and toxic substances from the body are called excretory organs.

During different metabolic activities taking place in our body, the body produces many substances, of which some are useful and some are useless.
The process of removing useless and harmful metabolic waste substances is called excretion.

The process of removal of chemical wastes (Mainly Nitrogenous) from the body is known as ''excretion''. It plays an important role in maintaining the homeostatic (steady-state) condition of the body.

Kidneys are the primary excretory organs, eliminating nitrogenous wastes (chiefly urea) from the blood and throwing it out in the form of urine.

The kidney is composed of an enormous number of minute tubules called uriniferous tubules or nephrons or renal tubules or just kidney tubules. These are the structural and functional units of the kidney. 

The apex of each pyramid in the medulla of the kidney that projects into the pelvis is called the papilla.

The glomerulus is a knot-like network of blood capillaries located inside the Bowman's capsule, where blood filtration occurs.

The Malpighian capsule is the combined structure of the Bowman's capsule and glomerulus, forming the filtration unit of the nephron.

Bowman's capsule is a thin-walled, cup-shaped structure in the nephron that surrounds the glomerulus and collects the filtrate from the blood.

The blood flows through the glomerulus under great pressure which causes the liquid part of the blood to filter out from the glomerulus into the renal tubule. This filtration under high force is called Ultrafiltration.

Glomerular filtration rate is the amount of glomerular filtrate formed in all the nephrons of both kidneys per minute. In a healthy individual, it is about 125 ml/minute.

The artificial process which cleans and filters the blood in a person where one or both the kidney may stop working properly is called dialysis.

Inside the kidney, there are millions of microscopic tubes called renal tubules or nephrons. It is the structural and functional unit of the kidney.

Ultrafiltration is the process in which blood is filtered under high pressure in the glomerulus, allowing water and small solutes to pass into the Bowman’s capsule.

Glomerular filtrate is the fluid formed after ultrafiltration that enters the renal tubule and contains water, urea, salts, glucose, and other small molecules.

Selective absorption is the process by which only useful substances like glucose, some salts, and water are absorbed from the renal tubule back into the blood, without disturbing its normal concentration.

Tubular secretion is the active transfer of certain substances, such as ions and drugs, from the blood into the renal tubule during urine formation.

The function of the kidney that involves regulating the composition of blood, including the percentage of water and salts, while removing wastes like urea, is called osmoregulation.

An artificial kidney is a dialysis machine that removes urea and excess salts from the blood when both kidneys fail, and returns the purified blood back into the body.

Dialysis is a medical process in which nitrogenous wastes and toxic substances are removed from the blood using an artificial machine when the kidneys fail to function properly.

• The human excretory system consists of a pair of kidneys, two ureters, a urinary bladder and a urethra.
• Kidneys are dark red, bean-shaped, retroperitoneal structures located from the 12th thoracic to the 3rd lumbar vertebra. Size: 10-12 cm × 5-7 cm × 2-3 cm; weight: 150 g (males), 135 g (females).
• Ureters are narrow tubular structures made of transitional epithelium that carry urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder.
• The urinary bladder is a pear-shaped, hollow, muscular organ in the pelvic cavity, lined by transitional epithelium, and acts as a reservoir of urine.
• Two sphincters exist between the bladder and the urethra: the internal sphincter (involuntary, detrusor muscles) and the external sphincter (voluntary, striated muscles).
• The urethra is a canal-like structure that opens to the exterior via the urethral orifice, much longer in males than in females.
• The aorta supplies oxygenated blood to the kidneys; the inferior vena cava carries deoxygenated blood away from the kidneys.

• Humans have two bean-shaped kidneys located on either side of the vertebral column (from the 12th thoracic to the 3rd lumbar vertebra).
• Kidneys help in maintaining homeostasis by regulating water balance (osmoregulation) and pH of body fluids.
• They also secrete erythropoietin, a hormone important for red blood cell production.
• Each kidney has an outer cortex and an inner medulla; the medulla contains conical structures called renal pyramids.
• Cortex extends into medulla, forming renal columns (columns of Bertini), and pyramids open into minor calyces through renal papilla.
• Kidneys are protected by renal capsule, adipose capsule (fat layer), and renal fascia, and contain nephrons, which are functional units for urine formation.

• Nephrons are the structural and functional units of the kidney, each consisting of a glomerulus and a renal tubule, and measuring about 4–6 cm in length.
• The Malpighian corpuscle (glomerulus + Bowman’s capsule) is the site of ultrafiltration, where blood enters through the afferent arteriole and leaves via the efferent arteriole.
• The proximal convoluted tubule (PCT), lined with cuboidal cells and microvilli, is the main site of selective reabsorption of water, ions, and nutrients.
• The loop of Henle extends into the medulla and helps in concentration of urine; its descending limb is permeable to water, while the ascending limb is impermeable to water but allows movement of electrolytes.
• The distal convoluted tubule (DCT) carries out tubular secretion and regulation of ions, and opens into the collecting duct, which reabsorbs water and transports urine to the renal pelvis.
• Nephrons are of two types: cortical nephrons with short loops of Henle and juxtamedullary nephrons with long loops that play a key role in urine concentration.
• The kidneys receive rich blood supply and filter large volumes of blood daily, with most filtrate reabsorbed and about 1–1.5 litres of urine excreted per day.

1. Kidneys are the main excretory organs that remove urea and other nitrogenous wastes from the blood in the form of urine.
2. Skin eliminates small amounts of urea, salts, and water through sweat, mainly for body cooling.
3. Lungs excrete carbon dioxide through exhaled air, playing a key role in gaseous waste removal.
4. Liver helps in detoxification by converting ammonia to urea and breaking down toxins like alcohol and drugs.

1. Kidneys help maintain the balance of water and salts in the blood, a process known as osmoregulation.
2. In summer, more water is lost through sweat, so urine becomes thicker and less frequent due to increased water reabsorption.
3. In winter, water loss through sweat is less, so more urine is passed, and it is more diluted.
4. In cholera, severe water loss through vomiting and diarrhoea reduces water absorption into the blood.
5. Kidneys reabsorb almost all available water, but urea may also accumulate, leading to uremia (urea poisoning).
6. Immediate treatment includes oral rehydration solution (ORS) or glucose-saline drips to restore fluid balance.