The Excretory System

MCAT Basics (from MedSchoolCoach)

MedSchoolCoach

Science

4.6 • 612 Ratings

🗓️ 17 April 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, we're covering the anatomy and physiology of key organs such as the kidneys, liver, skin, lungs, and large intestine, and discuss the crucial role they play in eliminating waste products from our bodies.

From the structure of the hepatic lobules in the liver to the sweat glands in our skin and the alveoli in our lungs, we'll cover how each component functions to maintain homeostasis. We'll also delve into the metabolic breakdown processes and the excretion of waste molecules such as urea, electrolytes, and gases like carbon dioxide.

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Jump into the conversation:

[00:00] Introduction to the MCAT Basics Podcast with host, Sam Smith

[04:50] Kidney, adrenal glands, nephrons filter blood. Bladder stores waste connected to kidneys.

[09:57] Liver has lobes and functional hepatic lobules. Skin excretes through sweating.

[12:20] Lung anatomy: trachea, bronchi, alveoli, gas exchange.

[16:54] Urea cycle energy requirement, deamination of amino acids.

[20:35] Urea density calculates volume of small ice cube.

[24:15] Carbon dioxide is a metabolic byproduct.

[27:46] Liver metabolizes drugs into water-soluble compounds.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to MCAT Basics, your ultimate guide to the essential topics you need to master for the MCAT,
0:07.0	brought to you by the physicians at Med School Coach.
0:10.0	Every week, Sam Smith breaks down high-yield MCAT topics, ensuring you're primed for success on test day.
0:17.0	Join Sam as we explore the most crucial subjects outlined by the AAMC, pulled from official practice materials and third-party resources.
0:24.7	Get ready to elevate your MCAT game with topics tailored to maximize your score potential.
0:30.0	Hello, I'm Sam Smith.
0:32.4	In this podcast, I cover the excretory system.
0:35.6	So I talk first about the difference between the excretory system
0:39.2	and related organ systems like the urinary system and the digestive system. Then I talk about some
0:45.6	important anatomical structures that are part of the extratory system. And then last I get into
0:51.9	some physiology where I discuss the physiology of a few of these components of the excretory system. And then last, I get into some physiology where I discuss the physiology of a few of these
0:56.1	components of the excretory system. And this material is going to show up on one of the four
1:00.7	MCAT sections that's going to be bio-biochem. I hope this podcast helps in your studies. And as
1:07.3	always, good luck to those of you who are taking the MCAT soon.
1:21.3	The main function of the excretory system is to remove access, unnecessary materials from different bodily fluids in order to maintain homeostasis.
1:25.6	These excess unnecessary materials include things like metabolic breakdown
1:30.1	products of sugars, fats, and proteins, excess electrolytes like sodium, ingested toxins, and
1:36.9	drugs, and then also gases, especially carbon dioxide, which builds up as a result of cellular
1:43.4	metabolism.
1:49.2	And the extortory system is not to be confused with the digestive system or the urinary system. They play similar roles, but I think it's important to understand the differences
1:53.6	between those three systems. So the role of the digestive system is to break down our food
1:59.3	into small bits that the body can then absorb.
	...

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