Osmoregulation and Excretion The unique physical and chemical properties of water have played a major role in te origin

of living organisms, and water thus is indispensable for all biochemical and physiological processes. These properties of water, described in chapter 2, made it possible for life as we know it to arise several billion years ago in a shallow, salty sea. Living cells to this day carry this aqueous heritage in their intracellular milieu and, moreover, are generally dependent on the immediate presence of extracellular water, even if merely a very thin layer. The macromolecular machinery of living cells also requires certain inorganic molecules and ions, which play a variety of important roles in both the intra and extracellular fluids (Table 12-1). The ability to survive in an osmotically unfavorable environment was achieved in the more advanced animal group by the evolution of a stable internal environment, which acts to buffer the internal tissues against the vagaries and extremes of the external environment (figure 12-1) General Considerations In this chapter, we will consider the osmotic environment and the mechanisms used by various animals to cope with environmental osmotic extremes. The movement of water and solutes across cell membranes and multicellular epithelial layers has been covered in Chapter 4 and forms an essential background for un understanding of osmoregulatory organs such as the kidney, gill, and salt gland covered in this chapter. Toward the chapters end we will consider the problem of eliminating toxic nitrogenous wastes produced during the metabolism of proteins. One of the requirements is the regulation of the internal environment is that appropriate quantities of water be retained. Another major requirement for cell survival is the presence, in appropriate concentrations, of various solutesd, such as salts and nutrient molecules. Some tissues require an extracellular ionic environment that is more or less an approximation of a sea water-namely, fluid high in sodium and chloride and relatively low in the other major ions, such as potassium and the divalent cation (table 12-2 and 12-3). For the simpler form of marine invertebrates, the sea water itself acts as the extracellular medium; for most of the more complex form, the internal fluids are in near ionic equilibrium with the seawater. In most multicellular solutes (Figure 12-1). Finally the cellular environment must be freed of toxic wastes that accumulate as by-product of the metabolism. In the simplest and smallest marine and aquatic organisms, this purificatioan happen simply by diffusion of the wastes into the surrounding water

Table 12-1 major inorganic ions of tissues Ion Na+ Distribution Some Fungtions Main extracellular Contribute major osmotic pressure of extracellular fluid cation Concentration gradient set up by sodium pump provides potential energy for transport of substances accros cell membrane Carries inward current for membrane excitation Main cation cyptoplasmic Contributes to osmotic pressure of cytoplasm Establishes the resting potential Activates some enzymes Carries outward current for membrane repolarization

K+

Ca+

Low concentration in Stablizes membranes regulated exocytosis and muscle cells contraction Involved in cementing cells together Carries inward current in some excitable membranes regulates many enzymes and processes: acts as second messenger or coupling agent Stabilizes membranes Antagonist of calcium action in many function Acts as cofactor for many enzymes (e.g., myosin ATPase)

Mg+ Intra and Extracelluler