35.1
Osmolarity
Osmolarity is defined as
Moles of solute (salt) per liter of solution
(water)
A value of 300 mosm/L
35.1
Excretion
The removal of nitrogenous waste
(from the break down of amino acids
primarily)
Urea is the waste product in humans
35.1
Types of Waste Products
Proteins Nucleic acids
35.2
Urea
The liver of mammals and most adult
amphibians
Converts ammonia to less toxic urea
Urea is carried to the kidneys,
concentrated
And excreted with a minimal loss of water
35.2
Uric Acid
Insects, land snails, and many reptiles,
including birds
Excrete uric acid as their major nitrogenous
waste
Uric acid is largely insoluble in water
And can be secreted as a paste with little
water loss
35.2
The Excretory System
The Steps in Urine Production
Filtration, pressure-filtering of body fluids
producing a filtrate
Reabsorption, reclaiming valuable solutes from
the filtrate
Secretion, addition of toxins and other solutes
from the body fluids to the filtrate
Excretion, the filtrate leaves the system
35.3
Most excretory systems produce urine by
refining a filtrate derived from body fluids
Capillary
1 Filtration. The excretory tubule collects a filtrate from the blood.
Water and solutes are forced by blood pressure across the
Excretory
selectively permeable membranes of a cluster of capillaries and
Filtrate
tubule
into the excretory tubule.
35.3
Structure and Function
The mammalian excretory system centers on
paired kidneys
Which are also the principal site of water
balance and salt regulation
35.4
Anatomy
Each kidney
Is supplied with Posterior vena cava
blood by a renal
artery and Renal artery and vein
Urinary bladder
Urethra
Renal
medulla
Renal
cortex
Renal
pelvis
Ureter
Section of kidney from a rat
35.4
(b) Kidney structure
The nephron is the functional unit of the
vertebrate kidney
It consists of a single long tubule and a ball
Juxta-
of capillaries called the glomerulus
Cortical
medullary nephron
nephron Afferent
arteriole
from renal Glomerulus
artery
Bowman’s capsule
Renal
cortex Proximal tubule
Peritubular
capillaries
Collecting
SEM
duct 20 µm
Efferent Distal
Renal
arteriole from tubule
medulla
To glomerulus
renal
pelvis Branch of Collecting
renal vein duct
Descending
Loop limb
of
Ascending
Henle
limb
Vasa
(d) Filtrate and recta
(c) Nephron
35.5 blood flow
Filtration of the Blood
Filtration occurs as blood pressure
Forces fluid from the blood in the
glomerulus into the lumen of Bowman’s
capsule
35.5
Filtration of the Blood
Filtration of small molecules is
nonselective
And the filtrate in Bowman’s capsule is a
mixture that mirrors the concentration of
various solutes in the blood plasma
35.5
Pathway of the Filtrate
From Bowman’s
capsule, the filtrate
passes through three
regions of the nephron
The proximal tubule, the
loop of Henle, and the
distal tubule
Fluid from several
nephrons flows into a
collecting duct
35.5
Blood Vessels Associated with
the Nephrons
Each nephron is supplied with
blood by an afferent arteriole a
branch of the renal artery that
subdivides into the capillaries
H+ NH3 K+ H+
CORTEX
Filtrate
2 Descending limb 3 Thick segment
H2O of loop of of ascending
Salts (NaCl and others) Henle limb
HCO3– NaCl
H2O
H+ OUTER NaCl
Urea MEDULLA
Glucose; amino acids 3 Thin segment 5 Collecting
Some drugs of ascending duct
limb
Key Urea
Active transport NaCl H2O
Passive transport INNER
MEDULLA
35.6
From Blood Filtrate to Urine: A
Closer Look
Secretion and reabsorption in the proximal
tubule
Substantially alter the volume and composition
of filtrate
Reabsorption of water continues
As the filtrate moves into the descending limb
of the loop of Henle
35.6
From Blood Filtrate to Urine: A
Closer Look
As filtrate travels through the ascending limb of
the loop of Henle
Salt diffuses out of the permeable tubule into the
interstitial fluid
The distal tubule
Plays a key role in regulating the K+ and NaCl
concentration of body fluids
The collecting duct
Carries the filtrate through the medulla to the renal
pelvis and reabsorbs NaCl
35.6
Water Conservation
35.7
Solute Gradients and Water
Conservation
In a mammalian kidney, the
cooperative action and precise
arrangement of the loops of Henle and
the collecting ducts
Are largely responsible for the osmotic
gradient that concentrates the urine
35.7
Two solutes, NaCl and urea, contribute to the
osmolarity of the interstitial fluid which causes the
reabsorption of water in the kidney and concentrates
the urine
Osmolarity of
interstitial
fluid
300 (mosm/L)
300 100
300
100
300 300
CORTEX H2O NaCl H2O
Active
transport 400 200 400 400
H2O NaCl H2O
Passive
transport H2O NaCl H2O
35.7
From Blood Filtrate to Urine: A
Closer Look
The collecting duct, permeable to water
but not salt
Conducts the filtrate through the kidney’s
osmolarity gradient, and more water exits
the filtrate by osmosis
35.7
From Blood Filtrate to Urine: A
Closer Look
Urea diffuses out of the collecting duct
As it traverses the inner medulla
Urea and NaCl
Form the osmotic gradient that enables the
kidney to produce urine that is hyperosmotic to
the blood
35.7