The excretory System

Learn how your body removes waste! Our Excretory System worksheet covers kidneys, urine, and body system jobs.

The Excretory System The excretory system includes all the tissues and organs that remove waste from the body. What are some examples of wastes that need to be removed from you body? Components of the Excretory System The Urinary System- Excretes water, nitrogenous wastes, and salts. These exit the body as urine.The Digestive System- Eliminates water, some salts, bile (stomach acid), and indigestible food matter. These materials combine to make feces.The RespiratorySystem- Eliminates carbon dioxide and water vaporThe Integumentary System (the Skin)- Excretes sweat which includes water, salts, and small amounts of nitrogenous wastes. Are all wastes of the body removed by the urinary system? The Excretory (Urinary) System in Detail The Kidneys- remove waste from the blood, balance the fluids of the body (homeostasis), and form urine.- Location- The body’s two kidneys are at your lower backMaintaining Water Balance-The kidneys are responsible for maintaining a steady level of water in the body, even when the amount of water entering the body varies from day to day.Urine usually contains the following substances:- Urea and uric acid (these contain lots of nitrogen)- Salts, also known as electrolytes.-Yellow coloring from bile (digestive juices) What factors can change the odor of urine? Filtering Waste in the Excretory (Urinary) System 1. Liquid waste collects in the kidneys. It’s just like a coffee filter.2. Solid wastes are filtered out. 3. If the body needs water, some will go back out to the bloodstream by way of the capillaries.4. Excess water, urea, ammonia, and uric acid will travel down the ureters.5. The bladder fills with liquid.6. When the bladder is full, the liquid exits through the urethra. Disorders of the Excretory (Urinary) System Urine should NOT contain the following unless something is WRONG:1. Glucose (sugar) -If sugar is in the urine, this means your cells are not absorbing sugar. That may be a sign of diabetes.2. Blood - If blood is in the urine, there is some type of kidney disease or infection of the urinary system.3. Kidney Failure results in metabolic waste building up in the blood - Kidney failure may cause dehydration, a build-up of nitrogen wastes in the blood, salt imbalances, anemia (low red blood cells) and high blood pressure. - Dialysis- This is when a patient who has kidney failure is hooked up to a machine that filters the body’s wastes - A kidney transplant is the final treatment for kidney failure.4. Kidney stones - these are formed when salts and calcium are not dissolved. They clump up in the kidneys and get stuck there.-Larger ones can be removed with surgery.- Smaller ones can pass through the ureters, then bladder, and then urethra. This process is VERY PAINFUL!!!5. Gout- results when the body makes uric acid crystals instead of urea. -the crystals collect in the joints in the legs, causing pain and swelling. What are the structures of the urinary system? What is the main function of the urinary system? What cell organelle is similar to the excretory system? Kidneys ureters bladder urethra