ADH & Water Control

There has to be a balance between the amount of water gained (from your diet though drinks and food and the water produced by cellular respiration) and the amount of water lost by the body (in sweating, evaporation, faeces and urine). This is achieved by the action of the hormone ADH (anti-diuretic hormone).

Perhaps you have not drunk anything for a while or you have been sweating a lot. Part of the brain, the hypothalamus, detects that there is not enough water in the blood. The hypothalamus sends a message to the pituitary gland which releases ADH. This travels in the blood to your kidneys and affects the tubules so more…