What physiological process involves the removal of carbon dioxide from the body?

The physiological process that involves the removal of carbon dioxide from the body is exhalation. During exhalation, air containing carbon dioxide is expelled from the lungs. This process occurs after inhalation, where fresh air is drawn into the lungs, allowing for the exchange of gases. Within the lungs, oxygen from the inhaled air enters the bloodstream, while carbon dioxide, a waste product of cellular respiration, is transported from the blood into the lungs to be exhaled. This vital process helps maintain the body's acid-base balance and ensures that carbon dioxide levels do not become harmful.

Inhalation, while crucial for bringing oxygen into the body, does not involve the removal of carbon dioxide. Peristalsis refers to the muscular contractions that move food through the digestive tract, and filtration is associated with processes like the kidneys filtering waste products from blood, neither of which pertain to the respiratory elimination of carbon dioxide.