HUTCHINSON SCHOOL– The fifth grade has learned a new science unit.

Have you ever thought about how your body rids harmful wastes? Probably not! Let’s go on a trip through the excretory system!

The excretory system has three parts: The lungs, the urinary system, and the skin. The urinary system’s job is to filter the blood. Inside the kidneys (which are organs in your lower back) are small filtering units called nephrons. There are about a million of them in your kidneys. They produce a liquid waste called urine. Tubes called ureters take the urine from the kidneys to the bladder. The bladder is a stretchy bag that stores urine until it’s passed from the body. Urine leaves the body through a tube called the urethra. The lungs are part of the excretory system because they eliminate carbon dioxide. The skin eliminates wastes, salts, and extra water.

“I love learning about the muscles in your body and how your body works,” says KS.

“It’s cool (the excretory system) because it helps our bodies get rid of waste.” said my brother, JP.

“I like how the parts of the respiratory and the circulatory system connect to the excretory system,” Ms. Buzin shared.

The digestive system is not a part of the excretory system. It eliminates undigested food and breaks down food for nutrition. The excretory system eliminates wastes produced by the cells.

To learn more about the lungs, check out KS and RB’s story on the respiratory system. All the body systems are somewhat connected, so if you mess with one, you mess with them all!