Removal of Metabolic End Products
Removal of
Carbon Dioxide by the Lungs
At the same time
that blood picks up oxygen in the lungs, carbon dioxide is released from
the blood into the lung alveoli; the respiratory movement of air into and out
of the lungs carries the carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is
the most abundant of all the end products of metabolism.
Kidneys
Passage of the
blood through the kidneys removes from the plasma most of the other substances besides
carbon dioxide that are not needed by the cells. These substances include
different end products of cellular metabolism, such as urea and uric acid; they
also include excesses of ions and water from the food that might have
accumulated in the extracellular fluid.
The kidneys
perform their function by first filtering large quantities of plasma through
the glomeruli into the tubules and then reabsorbing into the blood those substances
needed by the body, such as glucose, amino acids, appropriate amounts of water,
and many of the ions. Most of the other substances that are not needed by the
body, especially the metabolic end products such as urea, are reabsorbed poorly
and pass through the renal tubules into the urine.

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