What are the differences between excretion and egestion?

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Detailed Solution

Excretion removes waste made inside cells (like urea and carbon dioxide), while egestion removes undigested food from the gut.

In biology, the body handles two kinds of waste. Excretion deals with metabolic waste. These are substances formed inside cells during chemical reactions, such as urea from protein breakdown, carbon dioxide from respiration, excess salts, and water.

Organs like the kidneys, lungs, and skin carry out excretion. Egestion is different. It is the removal of undigested and unabsorbed food from the digestive tract through the anus as feces. This material was never part of body tissues and was not inside cells. Understanding this difference helps in human physiology, digestive system topics, and exam questions on waste removal.

Feature	Excretion	Egestion
Type of waste	Metabolic (urea, CO₂)	Undigested food
Origin	Formed inside cells	Never entered cells
Main organs	Kidneys, lungs, skin	Large intestine, rectum, anus
Pathway	Urine, sweat, exhaled air	Feces
Role in homeostasis	Maintains internal balance	Completes digestion process