Question

Do Kidneys play a role in the digestive system?

Answer 1

Hint: Five major organ systems are present and functional in our body- digestive system, respiratory system, circulatory system, excretory system, endocrine system. To answer this question, first let us understand the meaning of terms- digestion and excretion. The term ‘digestion’ actually means breaking down complex food particles into smaller and simpler absorbable forms. On the other hand, the word ‘excretion’ means removal of waste particles from the body.

Complete answer:
The digestive system includes the following organs:
1. Mouth
2. Esophagus
3. Stomach
4. Small Intestine
5. Large Intestine
6. Pancreas
7. Liver
The pancreas and liver are accessory digestive glands, i.e., they secrete enzymes that help in digestion and absorption but do not exactly play a direct role in the process of digestion.
The process of digestion starts itself in the mouth. In fact, the whole process of digestion is achieved mechanically and enzymatically with the help of muscular contractions and various hydrolytic enzymes respectively. The different enzymes act on different molecules.
The food we eat is pushed down to the stomach where it undergoes further digestion and churning. Digestion of proteins occurs in the stomach. Then it is further passed onto the small intestine where further digestion occurs and the digested material is ultimately absorbed. The undigested part goes into the large intestine where it is converted into feces and later excreted out through the anus.
Now coming to the excretory system.
The excretory system includes the following organs:
1. A pair of kidneys
2. Ureter
3. Urinary bladder
4. Urethra
The kidneys play a major role in the kidneys. Each kidney has millions of nephrons packed within it, which are the structural and functional units of kidneys. The nephrons filter the waste materials from the blood, and help in the formation of urine.

Thus, the kidneys don’t play any role in the digestion of food.

Note:
Although the digestive system and the excretory system are completely separate, they do interact with each other. The food we eat is absorbed into the blood in the small intestine. Eventually the cells utilize the food molecules as an energy resource and urea is eliminated as the major by-product of the metabolic reactions. It is removed by the kidneys from the blood.
Few learners make a common mistake that they consider the feces to be excretory material. But it is to be kept in mind that the feces are just undigested food materials that were not absorbed and thus eliminated eventually. It is not an excretory product. Excretory products like urea are those which are a product of metabolic reactions occurring in the body.