Why we excrete

Fit or Fiction. Why do we sweat? A set of metabolic reactions and processes that take place in the cells of organisms to convert biochemical energy from nutrients into adenosine triphosphate ATP. A compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH3. It is a common nitrogenous waste produced by the breakdown of amino acids in various cells in the body.

Waste product of protein catabolism that is mainly filtered from blood in the kidneys and excreted in urine. A waste product of nucleic acid catabolism that is mainly filtered from blood by the kidneys and excreted in urine.

The major organ of the integumentary system that covers and protects the body and helps maintain homeostasis, for example, by regulating body temperature. An organ of digestion and excretion that secretes bile for lipid digestion and breaks down excess amino acids and toxins in the blood.

An organ of the digestive system that removes water and salts from food waste and forms solid feces for elimination. Two paired organs of the respiratory system in which gas exchange takes place between the blood and the atmosphere. One of a pair of organs of the excretory and urinary systems that filters wastes and excess water out of blood and forms urine. The body system responsible for the elimination of wastes produced by homeostasis. There are several parts of the body that are involved in this process, such as sweat glands, the liver, the lungs and the kidney system.

From there, urine is expelled through the urethra and out of the body. Salty fluid secreted into ducts by sweat glands in the dermis that excretes wastes and helps cool the body; also called perspiration. Fluid produced by the liver and stored in the gall bladder that is secreted into the small intestine to help digest lipids and neutralize acid from the stomach. A multi-branched polysaccharide of glucose that serves as a form of energy storage in animals, fungi, and bacteria.

A brown pigment secreted into bile by the liver that is a byproduct of catabolism of dead red blood cells and is excreted in feces by the large intestine. Solid waste that remains after food is digested and that is eliminated from the body through the anus. One of a cluster of tiny sacs at the ends of bronchioles in the lungs where pulmonary gas exchange takes place. A liquid waste product of the body that is formed by the kidneys and excreted by the other organs of the urinary system.

One of the million tiny structural and functional units of the kidney that filters blood and forms urine. A long, narrow, tube-like organ of the digestive system where most chemical digestion of food and virtually all absorption of nutrients take place.

Getting Rid of Wastes. Congenital diseases may also affect the kidneys. These usually involve some problem that occurs in the urinary tract when a baby is developing in its mother's womb. One of the most common occurs when a valve-like mechanism between the bladder and ureter urine tube fails to work properly and allows urine to back up reflux to the kidneys, causing infections and possible kidney damage.

Drugs and toxins can also cause kidney problems. Using large numbers of over-the-counter pain relievers for a long time may be harmful to the kidneys. Certain other medications, toxins, pesticides and "street" drugs such as heroin and crack can also cause kidney damage. Early detection and treatment of chronic kidney disease are the keys to keeping kidney disease from progressing to kidney failure. Some simple tests can be done to detect early kidney disease.

They are:. It is especially important that people who have an increased risk for chronic kidney disease have these tests. You may have an increased risk for kidney disease if you:. If you are in one of these groups or think you may have an increased risk for kidney disease, ask your doctor about getting tested. Many kidney diseases can be treated successfully. Careful control of diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure can help prevent kidney disease or keep it from getting worse.

Kidney stones and urinary tract infections can usually be treated successfully. Unfortunately, the exact causes of some kidney diseases are still unknown, and specific treatments are not yet available for them. Sometimes, chronic kidney disease may progress to kidney failure, requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation.

Treating high blood pressure with special medications called angiotensin converting enzyme ACE inhibitors often helps to slow the progression of chronic kidney disease. A great deal of research is being done to find more effective treatment for all conditions that can cause chronic kidney disease. Kidney failure may be treated with hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis or kidney transplantation. But it also produces water and carbon dioxide as bi-products. Excretion gets rid of carbon dioxide, water, and other, possibly harmful, substances from your body.

Your lungs excrete carbon dioxide as you breathe out, your kidneys filter out nasties to produce urine, removing nitrogen waste from your body, and your skin sheds excess salt through sweat.

All vertebrate animals produce nitrogen waste in one form or another. Living things excrete. Excretion is the removal from the body of waste products which result from normal life processes.

Waste products such as carbon dioxide must be removed.