Difference Between Egestion And Excretion

Difference Between Egestion And Excretion

Irshad AnwarUpdated on 29 Dec 2025, 05:13 PM IST

Egestion and excretion are two essential elimination processes that help maintain the body’s internal balance. Egestion removes undigested food from the digestive tract, while excretion eliminates metabolic wastes such as urea and carbon dioxide. This guide explains definitions, mechanisms, differences, and NEET-focused comparison points of egestion vs excretion.

This Story also Contains

  1. What Is Egestion?
  2. What Is Excretion?
  3. Mechanisms of Egestion
  4. Mechanisms of Excretion
  5. Difference Between Egestion and Excretion
  6. Egestion vs Excretion NEET MCQs (With Answers & Explanations)
  7. Recommended video for Difference Between Egestion And Excretion
Difference Between Egestion And Excretion
Difference Between Egestion And Excretion

What Is Egestion?

Egestion is the expulsion of indigestible substances from the body. It occurs through the digestive tract and the waste is removed in the form of faeces. It takes place mainly through the colon, rectum and anus. This process is the final step of nutrition and important for the removal of non-absorbable products from the gastrointestinal tract and, thus, the wellness of the GI system.

What Is Excretion?

Excretion is the process by which metabolic waste products are eliminated from the body. Thus, it includes processes such as the removal of waste products from the blood by the renal cortex to form urine, the expulsion of gases from the lungs to form carbon dioxide and the secretion from sweat glands. Excretion is a continuous and vital life process since it ensures that the body has a constant steady temperature and helps remove unwanted substances.

Mechanisms of Egestion

The mechanism of egestion is described below-

Role of Digestive System

  • The digestive system’s main function in egestion is the breakdown of food, absorption of nutrients in the food and discharge of wastes.

  • The nutrients are absorbed through the small intestine.

  • The food which is not digested is subjected to processes that facilitate egestion as faeces.

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Pathway of Undigested food

  • Beginning from the mouth to the stomach, the small and large intestines and finally the rectum.

  • After it has advanced through the small intestine and large intestine, the food is converted to faeces by absorbing water and solidifying.

Organ Involved in Egestion

  • Organs involved in egestion are colon, rectum and anus.

Mechanisms of Excretion

The mechanism of excretion is described below-

Role of Excretory System

  • It ensures the expulsion of waste products from the body making sure internal chemical balance is well maintained.

  • It purifies blood and uptake of various necessary elements and expels unwanted products through different excretory organs.

Pathway of Metabolic Waste

  • By-products of metabolism for example urea, carbon dioxide and excess salts move from the cells in which they are found into the bloodstream.

  • It is then transported to the excretory organs where it is then metabolized and expelled out of the body.

Organ Involved in Excretion

  • The kidneys filter blood to produce urine, and the sure, as well as other wastes, are filtered out.

  • The liver, this organ detoxifies and creates bile.

  • Carbon dioxide is expelled in the lungs as a result of respiration.

  • Sweat is salty water and is excreted through the skin.

  • These organs assist in the efficient elimination of waste products from the body system.

Difference Between Egestion and Excretion

It is one important difference and comparison article in biology. The differences are listed below-

Key Difference
Egestion
Excretion

Type of Waste

Expulsion of indigestible food matter and solid wastes from the digestive system.

Discharge of metabolic waste products such as urine, carbon dioxide, and water

Nature of Waste

Solid (e.g., faeces)

Liquid (e.g., urine) and gaseous (e.g., carbon dioxide) waste.

Systems Involved

Digestive System

Excretory System

Main Organs

Involves the colon, rectum, and anus.

Involves excretory organs like kidneys, liver, lungs, and skin.

Frequency and Regulation

Occurs during specific times, often in conjunction with digestion, regulated by diet and the digestive system.

Continuous process regulated by the body’s internal clock, hydration status, activity, and metabolic rate.

Importance

Clears digestive tract

Maintains internal balance

Egestion vs Excretion NEET MCQs (With Answers & Explanations)

Important questions asked in NEET from this topic are:

  • Process of Egestion and Excretion

  • Egestion vs Excretion

Practice Questions for NEET

Q1. Absorbed substances finally reach the tissues which utilise them for their activities , this process is called

  1. Assimilation

  2. Absorption

  3. Digestion

  4. Mastication

Correct answer: 1) Assimilation

Explanation:

Assimilation is the process by which absorbed nutrients are delivered to the cells and tissues that need them for various functions. After digestion and absorption, nutrients such as glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids are transported through the bloodstream to different cells throughout the body. This process takes place at the cellular level in organs like the liver, muscles, adipose tissue, and other target cells.

Hence, the correct answer is option 1) Assimilation.

Q2. Which of the following statements is incorrect?

  1. Faecal accumulation in the rectum initiates a neural reflex causing an urge for its removal.

  2. Irregular bowel movements cause constipation.

  3. In diarrhea absorption of food is increased.

  4. All of the these

Correct answer: 3) In diarrhea absorption of food is increased.

Explanation:

The digestive wastes, solidified into coherent faeces in the rectum initiate a neural reflex causing an urge or desire for its removal. The egestion of faeces to the outside through the anal opening is called defecation. It is a voluntary process and is carried out by a mass peristaltic movement

Hence, the correct answer is Option (3) In diarrhoea absorption of food is increased.

Q3. Removal of digestive wastes, solidified into coherent feces in the rectum initiates a neural reflex causing an urge or desire for its removal the process is known as:

  1. Ingestion

  2. Defaecation

  3. Egestion

  4. Assimilation

Correct answer: 2) Defaecation

Explanation:

The above process is termed the defecation reflex. Thus, when the rectum is filled with fecal matter, it activates the stretch receptors and sends information to the brain, initiating an urge to move it out. It is also, therefore, a process consisting of both involuntary and voluntary actions within the muscles that expel waste from the body.

Hence, the correct answer is option 2) Defaecation.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What organs are involved in excretion?
A:

Excretion involves several organs: including the kidneys which filter out blood and make urine; the liver which purifies toxins and makes bile; the lungs which exhale carbon monoxide; and the skin which removes excess salts and water in the form of sweat. 

Q: Why is excretion important for homeostasis?
A:

It plays a massive role in the regulation of the internal environment as it rids the body of toxic substances, controls the amount of water in the body, and acid-base balance. If wastes are not expelled efficiently then poisonous matter starts building up within the body and plays a way around our normal functioning.

Q: How do digestive disorders affect egestion?
A:

Gastrointestinal diseases that include constipation, diarrhoea, or other types of bowel irregularities can also affect egestion since the nature, frequency, and manner of the expulsion of the waste products influence it. For instance, some conditions that cause changes in bowel habits include IBS or IBD hence impacting digestion and bowel comfort.

Q: What is the difference between egestion and excretion?
A:

In this aspect, egestion can be described as the process of forcing out any undigested or unabsorbed food remnants in our food digestion system and this forms a type of faeces. In secretion, materials not required for an organism’s metabolism are expelled out of the cells and tissues through the secretion system and the outcome is liquid waste and gases such as urea, and carbon dioxide among others.

Q: What organs are involved in egestion?
A:

Egestion entails organs such as the intestine which is a part of the digestive system that processes undigested food; the rectum a chamber that stores faeces and the anus is the orifice through which faecal matter is released out of the body.