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Excretion

Excretion is the removal from the body of metabolic waste.The main metabolic waste products in mammals are
  • carbon dioxide from cellular respiration which is excreted from the lungs
  • bile pigments from the breakdown of haem from old red blood cells, which is released into the small intestine
  • urea - a nitrogenous waste product formed from carbon dioxide and ammonia from the breakdown of amino acids.

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Specification: OCR Biology A (H420), A-level, 5.1.2 Excretion as an example of homeostatic control. Topic: Homeostasis.

Key terms in this lesson

Neurone
A specialised nerve cell adapted to transmit electrical impulses (nerve impulses) around the body.
Action potential
The temporary reversal of the electrical charge across an axon membrane, from about -70mV to +40mV, that occurs when a neurone is stimulated above threshold.
Resting potential
The difference in electrical charge across an axon membrane (about -70mV, inside negative relative to outside) when a neurone is not conducting an impulse.
Pacinian corpuscle
A mechanoreceptor found deep in the skin that detects mechanical pressure and generates a generator potential via stretch-mediated sodium channels.

More in Homeostasis

All 33 lessons in Homeostasis · All OCR A-level Biology topics