Flashcards in Excretion Deck (80):
1
Define Excretion
The removal of metabolic waste from the body
2
Define Metabolic Waste
Metabolic waste consists of waste substances that may be toxic or are produced in excess by the reactions inside cells.
3
Define Deamination
The removal of the amine group from an amino acid to produce amonia
4
What are the main compnents of metabolic waste to be excreted?
Carbon Dioxide and nitrogen-containing compounds (such a urea)
5
Why must carbon dioxide be removed from the body?
Too much CO2 in the blood produces too many H+ ions from hydrogen carbonate molecules, which compete with oxygen for space on the haemaglobin molecule, reducing oxygen transport.
Carbaminohaemoglobin also forms, reducing the amount of oxygen being trasported by the haemoglobin.
CO2 can react with water to form H2CO3 which then forms H+ ions which reduce the pH of the blood. If the pH gets too low, it can cause damage to the respiratory system.
6
Why are nitrogenous compounds produced?
Amino acids cannot be stored but they contain a lot of energy so are metabolised. Ammonia groups are toxic, however, so these must be removed before the rest of the compound is respired. The ammonia is then converted to urea which is less toxic by reacting it with carbon dioxide.
7
What is the heptic portal vein?
An unusualy blood vessel that has capillaries at both ends. It carries blood from the digestive system to the liver.
8
Where does the oxygenated blood to the liver come from?
The heart. Blood travels from the aorta bia the hepatic artery into the liver.
9
What is oxygenated blood in the liver used for?
Liver cells are active and carry out many metabolic processes, and so need a lot of oxygen in order to produce the ATP needed for these processes.
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Where does the deoxygenated blood to the liver come from?
The digestive system. This enters the liver by the hepatic portal vein, rich in the products of digestion.
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What is the doxygenated blood used for?
The deoxygenated blood from the digestive system will have uncontrolled concentrations of various compounds which could be toxic. This is controlled in the liver.
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How does blood leave the liver?
Through the hepatic vein where is rejoins the vena cava and back into normal circulation.
13
Where does bile come from?
Bile is a secretion from the liver.
14
How does the bile leave the liver?
Bile leaves through the bile duct to the gall bladder where it is stored until needed for digestion in the small intestine.
15
How are cells in the liver arranged?
The liver is divided into lobes, which is divided into cylidrical lobules. This layout provides the best possible contact with the blood.
16
How are the interlobular vessels arranged?
The interlobular vessels include the hepatic artery, hepatic portal vein and the bile duct. These run parallel and between the lobules.
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What is the intralobular vessel and how does the blood get to it?
This is the hepatic vein. The blood moves across to the vein from the artery and portal vein at intervals, across spaces called sinusoids.
18
What is a Kupffer cell and what is it's purpose?
It is a cell that moces around the sinusoids and is responsible for the break down of old red blood cells.
19
What is bilirubin?
Bilirubin is the product from the break down of haemoglibin. It is the brown pigment is faeces.
20
What is urea?
Urea is an excretory product formed from the breakdown of excess amino acids
21
What is the Ornithine Cycle?
The ornithine cycle is the process in which ammonia is converted to urea. It occurs partly in the cytosol and partly in the mitochondria, as ATP is used.
22
Why do we deaminate amino acids?
Because they contain a lot of energy, meaning it would be a waste if they were simply excreted without using that energy.
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Why do we need the ornithine cycle?
To convert the ammonia into something which is less toxic, ie urea.
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What are the products of deamination?
A Keto acid and an ammonia molecule
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What are the reactions involved in the ornthine cycle?
Ornthine+NH3+CO2-->H2O + Citulline
Citrulline+NH3-->H2O+Arginine
Arginine+H2O-->CO(NH2)2+Ornithine
26
What overall reaction does the ornithine cycle create?
2NH3+CO2--->CO(NH2)2+H2O
27
Define Detoxification
The conversion of toxic molecules to less toxic molecules or non-toxic molecules
28
Where is alcohol broken down in the body?
In the liver
29
What is the chain of reactions by which ethanol is broken down?
enthanol-->ethanal-->ethanoic acid-->Acetyl Coenzyme A
ethanol--->ethanal produces reduced NAD from NAD
Ethanal--->ethanoic acid also produces reduced NAD from NAD
30
What causes the liver to become enlarged? ("fatty liver")
NAD is needed in the break down of fatty acids. If too much NAD is used to break down alcohol rather than the fatty acids then these will build up around the liver.
31
What is a nephron?
The nephron is the functional unit of the kidney. It is a microscopic tubule that receives fluid from the blood capillaries in the cortex and converts this to urine, which drains into the ureter.
32
What is the glomerulus?
The glomerulus is a fine network of capillaries that increases the local blood pressure to squeeze fluid out of the blood. It is surrounded by a cup- or funnel-shaped capsule which collects the fluid and leads into the nephron.
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What is the outer section fo the kidney called?
The cortex
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What is the middle section of the kidney called?
The medulla
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What is the innermost region of the kidney called?
The ureter
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What are the five main sections of the nephron called?
The Bowman's Capsule
The Proximal Convoluted Tubule
The Loop of Henle
The Distal Convoluted Tubule
The Collecting Duct
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What is ultrfiltration and how does it work?
It is the process by which fluid is pushed from the blood capillaries into the bowman's capsule due to the larger pressure in the capillaries compared to the nephron fluid.
38
Define selective reabsorption
Useful substances are reabsorbed from the nephron into the bloodstream while the excretory substances remain in the nephron.
39
Where is about 85% of the nephron fluid reabsorbed?
The Proximal Convoluted Tubule
40
Define Ultrafiltration
Filtration at a molecular level - as in the glomerulus where large molecules and cells are left in the bloof and smaller milecules pass into the Bowmans capsule.
41
What are Podocytes?
Specialised cells that make up the lining of the Bowmans capsule.
42
What are the roles of the afferent arterioles?
The afferent arteriole carries blood towards the Bowman's capsule whereas the efferent arteriole carries the blood away. The afferent has a larger lumen than the efferent which causes the blood pressure inside the glomrulus to be much larger, increasing the efficienxy of the untrafiltration.
43
What three layers separate the blood plasma from the glomerular filtrate?
The Endothilium of the capillary
The Basement Membrane
The Epithelial cells
44
What does the basement membrane consist of?
A fine mesh of collagen fibres and glycoproteins to act as a filter.
45
What is the purpose of the basement membrane?
To act as a filter, specifically keeping molecules which have an Mr of 69000 or more out of the glomerular filtrate. This means almost all proteins and all blood cells do not pass through.
46
What are the finger like prjections of the podocytes called?
Major processes
47
What is the function of the major processes on the epithelial cells?
To make sure that there are gaps between the cells, so that certain molcules can get through the membrane.
48
What substances are filtered out of the blood and into the Bowman's capsule?
Water
Amino Acids
Glucose
Urea
Inorganic Ions (sodium, chloride, potassium)
49
Define Microvilli
Microscopic folds of the cell surface membrane that increse the surface area of the cell
50
Define Co-Transporter Proteins
Proteins in the cell surface membrane that allow the facilitated diffusion of simple ions to be accompanied by traport of a larger molecule such as glucose
51
Define Facilitated Diffusion
Diffusion that is enhanced by the action of proteins in the cell membrane
52
Define Sodium-potassium pumps
Special proteins in the cell surface membrane that actively transport sodium and potassium against their concentration gradients
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What is reabsorbed during Selective Reabsorption?
All the glucose
All amino acids
Some Salts
Some Water
54
What special features does the cell surface membrane in contact with the nephron fluid have?
Lots of microvilli to increase the surface area of the cells
Co-transporter proteins to transport the glucose and amino acids
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What features does the cell surface membrane have which is in contact with the blood have?
Sodium-Potassium pumps to pump Na+ out of the cell and K+ into the cell
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What features does the cell cytoplasm lining the nephron have?
Lots of mitochondria for the active processes
57
Step by step description of selective reabsoption
1) Sodium potassium pumps remove Na+ causing the concentration of Na+ to go down
2) Na+ is transported into the cell with glucose or amino acids by facilitated diffusion
3) As the concentration of Glucose and Amino Acids rise, they diffuse out of the cell into the blood stream (this may also be enhanced actively using ATP)
4) The reabsoption of these molecules reduces the water protential so water enters the cell and is reabsorbed into the blood by osmosis
5)Larger molecules which may have entered, such as small proteins, will be reabsorbed by endocytosis
58
Define the Hairpin Countercurrent Multiplier
The arrangment of a tubule in a sharp hairpin so that one part of the tubule passes close to another part of the tubule with the fluid flowing in opposite directions. This allows exchanged between the contents and can be used to create a very high concentration of solutes
59
Define Osmoregulation
The control and regulation of the water potential of the blood and body fluids. In humans, the kidney controls the water potential of the blood.
60
What is the purpose of the loop of henle?
To reabsorb more of the salts into the body so that they are not wasted. This makes the urine very dilute by the end of the loop.
61
How is the low water potential in the medulla achieved?
-As the fluid descends, it loses water to, and gains salts from, the surrounding tissues, decreasing the water potential
-As the fluid ascends, the water potential increases as, after the base, the salts are actively transported out of the limb, whereas water is kept in due to the walls being impermable to water
62
Define the Distal Convoluted Tubule
The coiled portion of the nephron between the loop of Henle and the collecting duct.
63
What happens in the distal convoluted tubule?
-Active transport is used to adjust the concentrations of various salts
-A small amount of water reabsoption depending on the current water potential
64
What is the Collecting Duct used for?
-Transports the urine to the pelvis
-Carries the water through the medulla so more water is reabsorbed due to the increasing water potential of the fluid as it travels further down
65
What is the Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH) used for?
Released from the pituitary gland and acts on the collecting ducts in the kidneys to increase their reabsoption of water
66
What are Osmoreceptors?
Receptor cells that monitor the water potential of the blood. If the blood has a low water potential then water is moved out of the osmoreceptor cells by osmosis, causing them to shrink. This cuases stimulation of the neurosecretory cells.
67
What is the hypothalamus?
A part of the brain that contains neurosecretory cells and various receptors that monitor the blood.
68
What are Neurosecretory Cells?
Specialised cells that act like nerve cells but release a hormone intot he blood. ADH is manufactured in the cell body and passes down the axon to be stored in the terminal bulb.
69
What is the posterior pituitary gland?
The hind part of the pituitary gland, which releases ADH.
70
How does ADH cause increased water reabsoption?
-Cells lining the tubule have ADH receptors on the side nearer the blood vessels
-ADH binds to these and causes a series of enzyme controlled reactions inside the cell
-These reactions cause vesicles containing aquaporins to fuse with the cell membrane in contact with the tubule fluid.
-This makes the duct walls more permable to water and so more water osmoses into the cells, and eventually the blood.
71
What happens when the levels of ADH in the blood decrease?
The cells urface membrane folds inwards, recreating the visicles with the aquaporins in them. This makes the walls less permeable again so more water is released in the urine
72
How is ADH removed from the blood stream?
ADH is slowly broken down naturally by the body and has a half life of about 20 minutes
73
Define Half Life
The half life of a substance is the time taken for its concentration to drop to half its original value
74
Define Dialysis
The use of a partially permeable membrane to filter the blood
75
What is a Dialysis membrane?
A partially permeable membrane that separates the dialysis fluid from the patient's blood in a dialysis machine.
76
What is Dialysis Fluid?
A complex solution that matches the composition of body fluids
77
What is Haemodialysis?
Blood is taken from a vein and passed through the dilaysis machine so that exchange can occur across an artificial partially permable membrane
78
What is Peritoneal Dialysis/
Dialysis fluid is pumped into the body cavity so that exchange can occur across the peritoneal membrane.
79
What are the advantages of Kidney Transplants?
-Freedom from time-consuming dialysis
-Diet is less limited
-Better physcial feeling
-Better quality of life (eg. long distance travel is possible)
-Better feeling mentally
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