Tag: excretion in living organisms

Organisms can store their wastes in different glands and organs such as the kidneys, sweat glands, lungs etc. All the nitrogenous and solid wastes are stored by different organisms for a certain period in certain body organs such as the kidneys and the intestines, after which they are eliminated from the body. So, the correct option is 'True'.

Earthworms excrete ammonia when sufficient water is available, because a large volume of water is needed by the animal to dissolve ammonia and eliminate it from, the body. Whereas in drier environment the animal eliminates urea as it requires only considerable amount of water for the excretion of urea because urea is very soluble in water.

The end products of aerobic metabolism of carbohydrates are carbon dioxide and water. Carbon dioxide remains dissolved in the blood and is carried by the veins to the lungs for oxygenation. If carbon dioxide is not removed from the metabolizing tissues, it will be toxic for that tissue and stop metabolism.

Urea is both osmoregulator as well as nitrogenous waste. Urea is produced in the liver and excreted through urine. The urea helps in osmoregulation by participating in counter current system, small amounts of urea enter the thin segment of the ascending limb of Henle’s loop which is transported back to the interstitium by the collecting tubule.  

The excretory product of spider is guanine. It is formed as a result of nucleotide metabolism. It does not require water for elimination because it is less soluble than uric acid and helps to conserve more water.

The characteristic shared by urea, uric acid and ammonia are they are nitrogenous wastes. In comparison to Ammonia and Urea, uric acid is the least toxic and the least soluble in water. It can be stored in cells and body tissues without any toxic effects and hence needs less water for excretion when compared to Ammonia and urea.

For terrestrial vertebrates, nitrogenous wastes are removed from body fluids by the action of the kidneys, the same organ involved in maintaining water balance. Ammonia the direct waste produced as a byproduct of protein metabolism.  Produced by all animals.  Because of its toxicity, many animals convert ammonia into a less toxic form.  Any conversion of ammonia into other forms comes at a price, for animals must expend cellular energy (ATP) to convert ammonia to either form of nitrogenous waste listed below.

Chemicals that the body makes when there is not enough insulin in the blood and it must break down fat instead of the sugar glucose for energy. The ketone bodies -- acetone,  acetoacetate, and beta-hydroxybutyrate -- are toxic acidic chemicals. They build up in the blood and then spill over into the urine. The body can also rid itself of acetone through the lungs. This gives the breath a fruity odor.

Urea synthesis is a five-step cyclic process, with five distinctive enzymes. One turn of the cycle consumes 2 molecules of ammonia and  1 molecule of carbon dioxide and creates 1 molecule of urea ((NH2)2CO. Hence  16  molecules of ammonia are required to form 8 molecules of urea.