Excretory Functions
The excretory system removes metabolic and liquid toxic wastes as well as excess water from the organism, in the form of urine.
The excretory system is a passive biological system that removes excess and unnecessary materials from an organism, so as to help maintain homeostasis within the organism and prevent damage to the body.
It is responsible for the elimination of the waste products of metabolism as well as other liquid and gaseous wastes. As most healthy functioning organs produce metabolic and other wastes, the entire organism depends on the function of the system; however, only the organs specifically for the excretion process are considered a part of the excretory system.
As your body performs the many functions that it needs in order to keep itself alive, it produces wastes. These wastes are chemicals that are toxic and that if left alone would seriously hurt or even kill you.
For example, as your cells break down amino acids, they produce a dangerous toxin known as ammonia. Your liver converts the ammonia to another substance, called urea. The urea is turned into urine in the kidneys and is then carried in the ureters to the bladder.
Read more about this topic: Excretory System
Famous quotes containing the word functions:
“Nobody is so constituted as to be able to live everywhere and anywhere; and he who has great duties to perform, which lay claim to all his strength, has, in this respect, a very limited choice. The influence of climate upon the bodily functions ... extends so far, that a blunder in the choice of locality and climate is able not only to alienate a man from his actual duty, but also to withhold it from him altogether, so that he never even comes face to face with it.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)