Slide 1
Excretion Andi BunchLizzie ContrerasJessica FossardMagan Green
Sarah Stark
So today Ill be talking with you about how excretion, which like
the picture shows excretion is all about how drugs leave the body.
In fact, if the door in the picture represented the human body, wed
need to throw a couple more neon red signs in there. Thats a lot of
exits. 1
What is Excretion?Drug excretion is defined as the removal of
drugs from the bodyA healthy kidney is key!
The kidney is the main organ involved in the process of removing
the drug from the body. When the drug reaches the kidneys, the
kidneys filter
2
Routes of ExcretionDrugs leaving the body can exit in many
different routes-Kidneys (urine)-Feces-Breast milk-Sweat-Saliva
Excretion through the urine and feces are the most important
routes on how drugs leave the body. Sweat is not as important as
these two. 3
Kidneys (urine) The most important organ in drug excretion -It
acts like a filter-We pee out the drug
As I stated earlier, the kidneys are the most important organ
responsible for eliminating drugs from the body. The kidneys act
like a filter and in the end most drugs are eliminated from our
bodies when we urinate.
The blood plus the drug are filtered in route to the kidneys.
This creates a liquid, what we call urine, which is made of bloods
water and parts of the drug that our body does not need to use. In
order for the kidney to eliminate drugs from the body, the drug
must somehow be prevented from being reabsorbed from the urine into
the bloodstream. The drug must be chemically changed into a
compound that is less fat-soluble and therefore less capable of
being reabsorbed.4
Filtration in the Kidneys
The next two slides will help to demonstrate this filtration
process. First, the blood (the red stuff) enters the kidneys (which
for the purpose of this metaphor) act much like a coffee filtration
device. Once the blood plus the drug enters the kidneys, these
organs act like filters, which remove most of the drug from the
blood.
The blood plus the drug are filtered in route to the kidneys.
This creates a liquid, what we call urine, which is made of bloods
water and parts of the drug that our body does not need to use. In
order for the kidney to eliminate drugs from the body, the drug
must somehow be prevented from being reabsorbed from the urine into
the bloodstream. The drug must be chemically changed into a
compound that is less fat-soluble and therefore less capable of
being reabsorbed.5
Filtration in the Kidneys
Once the drug has been filtered from the blood, it becomes part
of the urine. This urine makes its way to the bladder, which
eventually becomes full to the point that we will need to urinate.
During urination, the drug completely exits the body and like the
pictures shows ends up in the toilet. And thats the process of drug
excretion via the urine!
The blood plus the drug are filtered in route to the kidneys.
This creates a liquid, what we call urine, which is made of bloods
water and parts of the drug that our body does not need to use. In
order for the kidney to eliminate drugs from the body, the drug
must somehow be prevented from being reabsorbed from the urine into
the bloodstream. The drug must be chemically changed into a
compound that is less fat-soluble and therefore less capable of
being reabsorbed.
6
Breast MilkAs health care professionals encourage more women to
breast-feed, medication use while breast-feeding will
increaseMedications will transfer into breast milk; however, the
degree of transfer depends on several factorsPay special attention
to medications and encourage medications that have the least
effects on the infant
Drugs may transfer into milk if they attain high concentrations
in maternal plasma, have a low molecular weight (
