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Excretion
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Excretion is the process of eliminating waste products of metabolism and other non-useful materials. It is an essential process in all forms of life.
In single-celled organisms, waste products are discharged directly through the surface of the cell. Multicellular organisms utilize more complex excretory methods. Higher plants eliminate gases through the stomata, or pores, on the surface of leaves. Animals have special excretory organs. In humans the main organs of excretion are the kidneys and accessory urinary organs, through which urine is eliminated, and the large intestines, from which solid wastes are expelled. The skin and lungs also have excretory functions: the skin eliminates water and salts in sweat, and the lungs expel water vapor and carbon dioxide.
Contents
- 1 Specific examples
- 2 Etymology
- 3 See also
- 4 External links
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Specific examples
Plants have been shown (by British biologist
Brian J. Ford) to
translocate wastes into leaves which are then shed. In this fashion, the leaf, in addition to acting as an
energy-trapping structure, is also a plant's organ of excretion. In
mammals, the two major excretory processes are the formation of
urine in the
kidneys and the formation of
carbon dioxide (a human's most abundant
metabolic waste) molecules as a result of
respiration, which is then exhaled from the
lungs. These waste products are eliminated by
urination and exhalation respectively. In urination,
Hormone control over excretion occurs in the
distal tubules of the kidneys as directed by the
hypothalamus.
Perspiration is another excretory process which removes salts and water, although the primary purpose is cooling.
In insects, a system involving Malpighian tubules is utilized to excrete metabolic waste. Metabolic waste diffuses or is actively transported into the tubule, which transports the wastes to the intestines. The metabolic waste is then released from the body along with fecal stuffs.
Etymology
Many people misuse the term excretion as a euphemism for
defecation, and use excrement for
feces, but this is medically inexact.
See also
