Difference Between Egestion and Excretion in Human Biology

Every organism has to eliminate the waste products produced in the metabolic process that supports life. A plant or an animal has to eliminate those byproducts to avoid the toxicity of the system and carry on surviving in an ecosystem. There are two common terms related to the same concept. Excretion is the process where an organism excretes the byproduct of a metabolic process using the different cellular and organ functions. Egestion, on the other hand, is the term associated with the excretion or elimination of undigested food from the digestive system of an animal. It is also a process of eliminating byproducts of a metabolic process but it involves a digestive system and always happens in animals. 

An Introduction to Egestion and Excretion 

To understand the difference between excretion and egestion, first, you have to delve deeper into the basic terminologies related to this topic. An organism maintains different metabolic processes to support its life. In this process, the organism, a plant, or an animal, will have to consume or prepare food to survive. This is the prime concept of life surviving in an ecosystem. During this process, many byproducts are formed inside the organ system of an animal or a plant. This system has to be cleaned up to maintain optimum functionality. This is where the concept of excretion comes into the picture.

A plant will carry on its metabolic process and the excretion process will eliminate the byproducts. T is done by the responsible cell organelles or organs present. For instance, a plant has to get rid of the oxygen produced during the formation of glucose from carbon dioxide. It occurs through the stomata present in the leaves. Similarly, an animal will also get rid of the metabolites and byproducts produced during cellular metabolism. These byproducts are accumulated in the organ responsible for elimination with the help of a circulatory system. Animals urinate using their kidneys to filter blood and get rid of by products.

On the other hand, egestion is a process occurring in the digestive system of an animal where the leftover or undigested food material is excreted via the anus. Some animals excrete using their mouths. It all depends on the physiological structure of the digestive system of every animal. This term is associated with the digestive function of an animal. Hence, egestion can be considered as a sub-process included in excretion. It does not happen in plants as they do not have a digestive system. This is how you can understand and differentiate between excretion and egestion.

What is Excretion?

Each of the organs in the human body performs either a primary function or a specialized function. For example, the kidneys are specialized excretory organs that eliminate wastes from the blood and body fluids. The primary function of the kidney is to regulate fluid and mineral content in the body. This primary function is accomplished by maintaining adequate levels of plasma osmolarity, which is controlled by the kidneys, and urine output, which the kidneys control.

The body has two different types of chemical exchanges: the inorganic chemical exchange (the chemical reactions involved in cellular respiration) and the organic chemical exchange (the chemical reactions involved in metabolism).

During each metabolic exchange, the body has one of two routes to discard products of cellular metabolism. 

• The first route involves the process of cellular respiration, which includes both exhalation and metabolism. 

• The second route is called the excretory route, which involves two processes: (1) the excretory organs remove waste products from the body; and (2) some bodily wastes are excreted through the mouth and external genital organs.

Different ways of Excretion

The excretory system’s main function is to eliminate the toxins and wastes produced by the cells of the body. Therefore, when a human body consumes nutrients from food, the nutrients are converted into different chemicals and toxins called wastes. These wastes include excess nitrogenous compounds and urea, excess carbon dioxide, and uric acid, as well as other by-products of cellular metabolism. These wastes and toxins are removed from the body through the excretory organs and eliminated through the urine, the sweat, and through the feces.

• Most of the wastes are eliminated through the urine because the composition of urine contains large amounts of urea and nitrogenous compounds. The process of eliminating wastes through the urine also serves to replace the water that is lost through sweating.

• Sweat is produced by the sweat glands and is excreted through the pores in the skin. The liquid that is produced is composed of sodium chloride and water, and contains a low level of chemicals. The level of urea in the sweat is directly proportional to the amount of protein in the sweat.

• The body also produces bile for digestion through the liver. The by-products of metabolism are converted into salts and gases, and these are eliminated through the mouth, nasal passages, and genital organs. A person with a normal body needs to expel about 30 pints of blood daily. It is easy to see that this is far beyond what the excretory system can eliminate.

• During exercise, the body’s blood flow increases significantly and blood volume expands in the cardiovascular system. In addition, there is an increase in the rate of digestion and the digestion process increases the amount of wastes that are produced. In all these cases, the excretory organs have to work harder to cleanse the blood and other body fluids. As a result, many athletes are troubled with digestive disorders like heartburn, bloating, and constipation.

What is Egestion?

Egestion is the removal of food and liquids from the gastrointestinal tract. This means that after the digestive system processes the food and liquid, wastes are also removed. This is accomplished by the digestive system, which is located inside the abdominal cavity. The main parts of this system are the stomach, small intestine, and colon. These organs, the liver, kidneys, and other glands, and exocrine and endocrine glands, all participate in the process of egestion.

Difference between Excretion and egestion

Here is a table showing 5 differences between excretion and egestion:

Elaboration of Differences between excretion and egestion?

To understand the difference between Egestion and Excretion first, you have to delve deeper into the basic terminologies related to this topic. 

Excretion refers to the elimination of waste from your body. and egestion refers to the removal of waste from your body. When you eat, you produce waste products, such as mucus, uric acid, porphyrins, cholesterol, etc. that are normally excreted from the body. Your body uses a number of processes to remove these waste products from your body. It uses the kidneys, which remove waste products like uric acid from your body. You pass urine into the kidneys, which removes uric acid from your blood. This is excretion. In the liver, the body converts and removes the rest of the waste products from your blood.

The kidneys remove the waste products that the body no longer needs through the urine that is passed out of the kidneys. Waste is stored in the bladder, and the waste is removed from the bladder through the urethra.

Egestion refers to the process that removes the waste from your body. You do this through the feces, which are your stools. Stools are different from the urine that is passed out of your kidneys, and they are different from the stool that is passed out of your stomach. The stools contain waste products, such as mucus, uric acid, protein, fats, and water. Your stools are made up of dead cells, blood, and other waste products from your body.

Conclusion

First, understand the meaning of egestion and excretion and then focus on their differences. It is then you can understand the concept well. Study this topic using examples and proper image descriptions for a better understanding.