Animal Excretory Systems

Maintaining the balance of water and salts in the body.

Removal of metabolic wastes from the body.

Excess nitrogen produced during the breakdown of nitrogen-containing molecules like proteins and nucleic acids.

The most toxic form of nitrogenous waste, often excreted by aquatic animals.

Less toxic than ammonia, commonly excreted by mammals, amphibians, and sharks.

The least toxic form of nitrogenous waste, often excreted by birds, reptiles, and insects.

A set of enzymatic reactions occurring in the liver that produces urea. Requires energy.

A common reservoir in reptiles and birds for digestive, urinary, and reproductive systems.

Small, bulb-like structures with beating cilia found in planarians, which help in removing excess water and waste.

Tubular excretory organs in earthworms, usually present in pairs, which filter waste from the coelom and excrete it.

The ciliated opening of a nephridium in earthworms.

Long, thin structures attached to the gut of insects, responsible for excreting uric acid.

The body fluid of arthropods, comparable to blood in vertebrates, except the fluid is not contained within a vascular system.

Excretory organs found in aquatic crustaceans, responsible for removing waste from the hemocoel.

Excretory organs found in shrimp and pillbugs. These glands are located in the maxillary segments.

Excretory organs found in spiders, scorpions, and other arachnids, located near appendages.

The main organs for osmoregulation in vertebrates, responsible for maintaining the balance of water and salts.

A process where kidneys reabsorb water and useful molecules back into the bloodstream, concentrating the remaining urine for excretion.

A process where the kidneys actively transport molecules from the blood into the urine for excretion.

A concentrated solution of waste products and water produced by the kidneys.

The condition caused by the buildup of uric acid in the blood, leading to precipitation in joints and causing pain.

Flatworms living in fresh water, containing flame cells for excretion.

Earthworms' segmentized bodies, each containing a pair of nephridia for excretion.

The fluid inside the coelom of earthworms that is filtered by nephridia.

The process of removing waste products from the blood through filtration, reabsorption, and secretion.

A type of excretory organ found in various arthropods, specialized for removing waste from the hemocoel.

The process of maintaining the balance of ions, like sodium, calcium, and potassium, in the body.

The ability of an organism to adapt to different levels of salt concentration in their environment.

The process of water moving across a semipermeable membrane from an area of high water concentration to an area of low water concentration.