Educator

Osmoregulation and Excretion

• Osmoregulation, the control of water balance in animals, and excretion, the body’s waste disposal system, are closely related processes. In this Lesson, we’ll look at how animals regulate the concentration of their body fluids, and how waste materials are excreted by mechanisms of active transport.

• We’ll go on to examine different kinds of excretory systems: flame cells, Malpighian tubules, nephridia, and vertebrate kidneys. The most complex and compact excretory systems are those in the vertebrate kidney. We’ll look in depth at the human kidney and its filtration system. We’ll also study how hormones regulate kidney function and water balance in the body.

• We’ll finish by looking at some of the causes of kidney failure, along with their treatments.