The excretory system is a passive biological system that removes excess, unnecessary materials from an organism, so as to help maintain homeostasis within the organism and prevent damage to the body. It is responsible for the elimination of the waste products of metabolism as well as other liquid and gaseous wastes, as urine and as a component of sweat and exhalation. As most healthy functioning organs produce metabolic and other wastes, the entire organism depends on the function of the system; however, only the organs specifically for the excretion process are considered a part of
As it involves several functions that are only superficially related, it is not usually used in more formal classifications of anatomy or function.
Read more about Excretory System: Excretory Functions, Component Organs, Urine Formation
Famous quotes containing the word system:
“Short of a wholesale reform of college athletics—a complete breakdown of the whole system that is now focused on money and power—the women’s programs are just as doomed as the men’s are to move further and further away from the academic mission of their colleges.... We have to decide if that’s the kind of success for women’s sports that we want.”
—Christine H. B. Grant, U.S. university athletic director. As quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A42 (May 12, 1993)