“Secretion” and “excretion” are the same in nature since both are involved in the passage or movement of materials. These words and body processes are needed in order to control and maintain homeostasis in the body. Both processes move and eliminate unwanted components in the body. The difference between excretion and secretion is that excretion is the process of removing, or ejecting material that has no further utility, especially from the body while secretion is any substance that is secreted by an organism or secretion can be the act of hiding something.
What is Secretion?
Secretion is the movement of material from one point to another. Secretion is the process of releasing and transporting a specific chemical substance from one place to another. The substances are normally released from a cell or gland in animals.
What is Excretion?
Excretion is the removal of material from a living thing. Excretion is a vital process in all forms of life. It involves the removal of metabolic waste from the animal body, and it balances the water and salt. Excretion also maintains proper concentrations of dissolved substances and water in the cells and fluids of organisms.
Key Differences between Secretion and Excretion
- Secretion is active while excretion is passive in nature.
- Excretion is mostly body wastes while secretion is important materials that can be metabolized and used by our bodies.
- Lungs and kidneys are the main excretory organs while liver, glands, and glandular cells are involved in the process of secretion.
- Secretion process involves the movement of material from one place to another while both places being important. Unlike secretion, the process of excretion involves discharging of a material from a living thing.
- Unlike secretion, excretion is more important to balance water and salt concentrations in the body.
- Digestive glands, pancreas, gallbladder, endocrine glands like thyroid, pituitary, ovary and testes also play a crucial role in the secretion in humans. The lungs excrete carbon dioxide and water vapor while the kidneys excrete urine as excretory products.
- As nouns the difference between excretion and secretion is that excretion is the process of removing, or ejecting material that has no further utility, especially from the body while secretion is any substance that is secreted by an organism or secretion can be the act of hiding something.
- In humans, the liver is the largest gland in the body and, it secretes the bile, which plays a role in digestion. Lungs and kidneys are the major organs of excretion in the human body.