Excretion
Encyclopedia
Excretion is the process by which waste products of metabolism
and other non-useful materials are eliminated from an organism. This is primarily carried out by the lungs, kidneys and skin
. This is in contrast with secretion
, where the substance may have specific tasks after leaving the cell
. Excretion 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 organism
s utilize more complex excretory methods. Higher plant
s eliminate gases through the stomata, or pores, on the surface of leaves. Animals have special excretory organs.
. Waste products may be stored in leaves that fall off. Other waste materials that are exuded by some plants — resins, saps, latexes, etc. are forced from the interior of the plant by hydrostatic pressures inside the plant and by absorptive forces of plant cells. These processes do not need added energy, they act passively.Plants also excrete some waste substances into the soil around them.
Aquatic animal
s usually excrete ammonia
directly into the external environment, as this compound has high solubility
and there is ample water available for dilution. In terrestrial animal
s ammonia-like compounds are converted into other nitrogenous materials as there is less water in the environment and ammonia itself is toxic.
Bird
s excrete their nitrogenous wastes as uric acid
in the form of a paste. This is metabolically more expensive, but allows more efficient water
retention and it can be stored more easily in the egg. Many avian species, especially seabird
s, can also excrete salt via specialized nasal salt glands, the saline solution leaving through nostrils in the beak
.
In insect
s, 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 matter.
Many people misuse the term excretion as a euphemism for defecation
, and use excrement for feces
, but this is biologically incorrect.
Metabolism
Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in the cells of living organisms to sustain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories...
and other non-useful materials are eliminated from an organism. This is primarily carried out by the lungs, kidneys and skin
Skin
-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
. This is in contrast with secretion
Secretion
Secretion is the process of elaborating, releasing, and oozing chemicals, or a secreted chemical substance from a cell or gland. In contrast to excretion, the substance may have a certain function, rather than being a waste product...
, where the substance may have specific tasks after leaving the cell
Cell (biology)
The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....
. Excretion is an essential process in all forms of life.
In single-celled organisms
Microorganism
A microorganism or microbe is a microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters, or no cell at all...
, waste products are discharged directly through the surface of the cell. Multicellular organism
Multicellular organism
Multicellular organisms are organisms that consist of more than one cell, in contrast to single-celled organisms. Most life that can be seen with the the naked eye is multicellular, as are all animals and land plants.-Evolutionary history:Multicellularity has evolved independently dozens of times...
s utilize more complex excretory methods. Higher plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s eliminate gases through the stomata, or pores, on the surface of leaves. Animals have special excretory organs.
Non-mammalian
In plants, breakdown of substances is much slower than in animals. Hence accumulation of waste is much slower and there are no special organs of excretion. Green plants in darkness or plants that do not contain chlorophyll produce carbon dioxide and water as respiratory waste products. Carbon dioxide released during respiration gets utilized during photosynthesis. Oxygen itself can be thought of as a waste product generated during photosynthesis, and exits through stomata, root cell walls, and other routes. Plants can get rid of excess water by transpiration and guttationGuttation
Guttation is the appearance of drops of xylem sap on the tips or edges of leaves of some vascular plants, such as grasses. Guttation is not to be confused with dew, which condenses from the atmosphere onto the plant surface.- Process :...
. Waste products may be stored in leaves that fall off. Other waste materials that are exuded by some plants — resins, saps, latexes, etc. are forced from the interior of the plant by hydrostatic pressures inside the plant and by absorptive forces of plant cells. These processes do not need added energy, they act passively.Plants also excrete some waste substances into the soil around them.
Aquatic animal
Aquatic animal
An aquatic animal is an animal, either vertebrate or invertebrate, which lives in water for most or all of its life. It may breathe air or extract its oxygen from that dissolved in water through specialised organs called gills, or directly through its skin. Natural environments and the animals that...
s usually excrete ammonia
Ammonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
directly into the external environment, as this compound has high solubility
Solubility
Solubility is the property of a solid, liquid, or gaseous chemical substance called solute to dissolve in a solid, liquid, or gaseous solvent to form a homogeneous solution of the solute in the solvent. The solubility of a substance fundamentally depends on the used solvent as well as on...
and there is ample water available for dilution. In terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animal
Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land , as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water , or amphibians, which rely on a combination of aquatic and terrestrial habitats...
s ammonia-like compounds are converted into other nitrogenous materials as there is less water in the environment and ammonia itself is toxic.
Bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s excrete their nitrogenous wastes as uric acid
Uric acid
Uric acid is a heterocyclic compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen with the formula C5H4N4O3. It forms ions and salts known as urates and acid urates such as ammonium acid urate. Uric acid is created when the body breaks down purine nucleotides. High blood concentrations of uric acid...
in the form of a paste. This is metabolically more expensive, but allows more efficient water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
retention and it can be stored more easily in the egg. Many avian species, especially seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
s, can also excrete salt via specialized nasal salt glands, the saline solution leaving through nostrils in the beak
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
.
In insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, a system involving Malpighian tubules is utilized to excrete metabolic waste
Metabolic waste
Metabolic wastes or excretes are substances left over from excretory processes, which cannot be used by the organism , and must therefore be excreted. This includes nitrogen compounds, water, CO2, phosphates, sulfates, insoles, medicals, food additives etc. Animals treat these compounds as excretes...
. 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 matter.
Many people misuse the term excretion as a euphemism for defecation
Defecation
Defecation is the final act of digestion by which organisms eliminate solid, semisolid or liquid waste material from the digestive tract via the anus. Waves of muscular contraction known as peristalsis in the walls of the colon move fecal matter through the digestive tract towards the rectum...
, and use excrement for feces
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
, but this is biologically incorrect.
See also
- Countercurrent exchangeCountercurrent exchangeCountercurrent exchange is a mechanism occurring in nature and mimicked in industry and engineering, in which there is a crossover of some property, usually heat or some component, between two flowing bodies flowing in opposite directions to each other. The flowing bodies can be liquids, gases, or...
- Eructation
- HomeostasisHomeostasisHomeostasis is the property of a system that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition of properties like temperature or pH...
- OsmoregulationOsmoregulationOsmoregulation is the active regulation of the osmotic pressure of an organism's fluids to maintain the homeostasis of the organism's water content; that is it keeps the organism's fluids from becoming too diluted or too concentrated. Osmotic pressure is a measure of the tendency of water to move...
- Respiration (physiology)Respiration (physiology)'In physiology, respiration is defined as the transport of oxygen from the outside air to the cells within tissues, and the transport of carbon dioxide in the opposite direction...
External links
- UAlberta.ca, Animation of excretion