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The effect of ADH on tubule permeability and in water balance – Higher

ADH

Two important areas inside the brain are the , which detects changes in the blood plasma, and the , which regulates the release of the anti-diuretic hormone, known as .

A labelled diagram of the brain

Different amounts of ADH are released into the bloodstream according to the concentration of water in the . ADH is released by the pituitary gland when the blood is too concentrated and it causes the kidney tubules to become more . This allows more water to be reabsorbed back into the blood during selective reabsorption.

If a person has consumed a large volume of water and has not lost much as sweat, too much water might be detected in the blood plasma. If this occurs, less ADH will be released, which results in less water being reabsorbed and a dilute and larger volume of urine will be produced.

The diagram shows what happens when there is too little water in the blood

If a person becomes too hot and sweats a lot, but doesn't drink enough water to replace what was lost, too little water might be detected in the blood plasma. More ADH will be released, which results in water being reabsorbed and a more concentrated but smaller volume of urine will be produced.

Too little water in blood. Hypothalmus detects water level. Pituitary gland releases ADH.  More water reabsorbed by kidneys. Less water lost in urine.  Blood water level returns to normal.

This type of control is an example of the negative feedback mechanism. It aims to keep the concentration of the blood plasma constant.

PlasmaProblemADH releaseEffect of ADHEffect on urine
High concentrationToo little waterIncreasesMore water reabsorbed by nephronsMore concentrated
Low concentrationToo much waterDecreasesLess water reabsorbed by nephronsMore dilute
PlasmaHigh concentration
ProblemToo little water
ADH releaseIncreases
Effect of ADHMore water reabsorbed by nephrons
Effect on urineMore concentrated
PlasmaLow concentration
ProblemToo much water
ADH releaseDecreases
Effect of ADHLess water reabsorbed by nephrons
Effect on urineMore dilute

A negative feedback control system responds when conditions change from the ideal or set point and returns conditions to this set point. There is a continuous cycle of events in negative feedback.

Flow chart illustrating how the kidneys work