What are Malpighian tubules in insects?
In insects, Malpighian tubules (MTs) are the main osmoregulatory and excretory organs and are considered analogous to the nephridia of annelids or the kidneys of vertebrates.
What is the function of the malpighian tubule system in insects?
Malpighian tubules have as their main function the regulation and control of haemolymph composition and volume. In carrying out this function it turns out that they respond in appropriate ways to changes in haemolymph composition, not only as directed by circulating hormones, but also autonomously.
What is the function of a grasshopper’s Malpighian tubules?
As excretory organs, the Malpighian tubules not only get rid of nitrogenous wastes, they help properly maintain the internal ionic balance of the insect.
Where are the Malpighian tubules in an insect?
Malpighian tubule, in insects, any of the excretory organs that lie in the abdominal body cavity and empty into the junction between midgut and hindgut. In species having few malpighian tubules, they are long and coiled; in species with numerous (up to 150) tubules, they are short.
What is excretory system in insects?
The main excretory organ of the insect is the Malpighian tubule. Insects contain anything from 2 to 150 or more Malpighian tubules depending on the genus. Malpighian tubules are tubular outgrowths of the gut. Each Malpighian tubule is a blind-ending tube whose lumen is continuous with the lumen of the gut.
What is the main excretory product of insects?
* Most terrestrial insects produce uric acid as their main nitrogenous waste product. Uric acid is a relatively non- toxic and highly insoluble waste product. Therefore, it can crystallize out of solution, and may be either retained in the body, or eliminated as a solid waste material with little water loss.
What is the function of hemolymph?
Hemolymph serves as a water storage pool for use by tissues during desiccation and as a storage depot for other types of chemicals. It also contains circulating cells called hemocytes.
What is the excretory substance in insect?
How does the excretory system in insects work?
The body cavity of the insect is filled with a fluid, usually colourless, called haemolymph. It is the job of the Malpighian tubules to keep the haemolymph cleansed of these wastes — they remove wastes from the haemolymph and then excrete them into the gut lumen.
What is the function of the excretory system in insects?
The removal of waste products of metabolism, especially nitrogenous compounds from the body of insects is known as excretion. The excretion process helps the insect to maintain salt water balance and thereby physiological homeostasis.
How do insects excrete their wastes?
Malpighian tubules of insects and other terrestrial arthropods remove nitrogenous wastes and other solutes from the hemolymph. Na+ and/or K+ ions are actively transported into the lumen of the tubules. Water then enters the tubules via osmosis, forming urine. The concentrated waste is then excreted.
Which of the following excretory structures is associated with insects?
The principal excretory organs of insects are the Malpighian tubules, working in conjunction with the hind gut (p. 252). Other haemocoelic structures, such as the nephrocytes, fat-body and some cephalic glands, have also been regarded in the past as excretory organs.