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Unit 19: Biology Part 2
Diseases of the Excretory
System
Three common diseases of the
excretory system are kidney
stones, kidney failure, and urinary
tract infections. Kidney stones
are crystallized minerals created by
waste in the kidneys. Although the
stones form in the kidneys, they
can be found anywhere in the
urinary system. Depending on how
large the stones are, they can
cause no pain at all or cause a
great amount of pain. Sometimes
stones need to be removed in
surgery.
Figure 47 – Kidney stones form
in the kidneys, and can cause
great pain.
Kidney failure occurs when the
kidneys stop filtering blood. This
can happen because of an injury to
the kidneys, the loss of a lot of
blood, or by some drugs and
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poisons. If the kidneys are not
seriously damaged, they may be
able to recover and continue to
function. However, in the event of
very serious kidney failure, a
person may need to have kidney
dialysis. Dialysis is a process in
which a machine, called a dialysis
machine, artificially filters the
blood, as the kidney normally
would.
A final disease of the excretory
system is urinary tract infections
(UTI.) UTI occur when bacteria get
into the bladder or kidney and
multiply. The most common type
of UTI is a bladder infection. It is
more common for women to get
UTI’s than men, and they are often
treated with antibiotics.
Figure 48 – A kidney dialysis
machine performs the job of
the kidney in the event of
kidney failure.
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