Antidiuretic hormone controls the water content of the blood by

  • A. increasing the rate of glomerular filtration
  • B. making the walls of the distal tubule and collecting duct more permeable to water
  • C. actively pumping water out of the tubule
  • D. reducing the reabsorption of sodium ions

Explanation

ADH from the posterior pituitary inserts water channels into the tubule walls, so more water is reabsorbed by osmosis into the salty medulla and a small volume of concentrated urine is produced. It is released when osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus detect that the blood is too concentrated, a textbook negative feedback loop. Alcohol suppresses ADH, which is why it causes dehydration.

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