New
New
Year 11
Edexcel
Higher

The roles of the nervous and endocrine systems in controlling water balance

I can describe the roles of the nervous and endocrine systems in controlling water balance in the human body.

New
New
Year 11
Edexcel
Higher

The roles of the nervous and endocrine systems in controlling water balance

I can describe the roles of the nervous and endocrine systems in controlling water balance in the human body.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Receptors in the hypothalamus detect changes in the amount of water in the blood plasma.
  2. When there is too little water, the pituitary gland secretes a hormone called ADH.
  3. ADH increases the permeability of the kidney tubules so more water is reabsorbed into the blood plasma.
  4. When there is too much water, the pituitary gland secretes less ADH and less water is reabsorbed in the kidneys.
  5. Drinking alcohol causes less ADH to be produced, so urine becomes more dilute and this can cause dehydration.

Common misconception

Understanding how kidney filtration is controlled is complex, multifaceted and involves fairly obscure parts of the body so there is a lot of new content in this topic.

The parts of the process are broken down into individual steps, introduced with care and supporting illustrations, checked, reviewed and backed up with reinforcing tasks.

Keywords

  • Hypothalamus - Part of the brain that controls our internal environment, including water balance and body temperature.

  • Gland - An organ or tissue that produces and secretes substances, such as hormones.

  • Hormone - A chemical substance produced by a gland that travels in the bloodstream to a specific target organ.

  • ADH - Anti-diuretic hormone, secreted by the pituitary gland, which increases the permeability of the kidney tubules.

Use a model of the brain to show the proximity of the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, and take time to ensure that students are clear about the three main parts of this process (hypothalamus, pituitary gland and ADH).
Teacher tip

Equipment

None required.

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
It is important that the amount of water in the human body is kept ...
Correct answer: constant.
high.
low.
Q2.
Which organ detects changes in water levels in the human body?
Correct answer: brain
eye
kidney
liver
Q3.
The brain detects the amount of water in the ...
bladder.
Correct answer: blood.
kidney.
urine.
Q4.
Which organ responds to changes in water levels in the human body by filtering and reabsorbing water from the blood?
brain
Correct answer: kidney
liver
stomach
Q5.
Water moves between cells and blood plasma by the process of ...
Correct Answer: osmosis, diffusion
Q6.
Put the sentences in the correct order to explain what would happen to body cells if there was a very high level of water in the blood.
1 - The concentration of water molecules would be higher in the blood than in cells.
2 - Water would move by osmosis into cells, down the concentration gradient.
3 - Cells would swell up with water.
4 - Eventually cells could burst.
Q2 image 2 Alexander_P/Shutterstock Q2 image 3 Macrovector/Shutterstock Q2 image 4 Macrovector/Shutterstock Q4 image 2 Macrovector/Shutterstock Q4 image 3 Macrovector/Shutterstock Q4 image 4 Macrovector/Shutterstock

6 Questions

Q1.
Match each body system to its correct description.
Correct Answer:circulatory system,transports blood around the body

transports blood around the body

Correct Answer:endocrine system,uses hormones as chemical messengers

uses hormones as chemical messengers

Correct Answer:nervous system,transmits impulses along neurones

transmits impulses along neurones

Q2.
Which part of the brain detects changes in the water balance of the blood plasma?
An image in a quiz
cerebral cortex
cerebellum
pituitary gland
Correct answer: hypothalamus
Q3.
The hormone ADH (anti-diuretic hormone) is secreted by the gland in the brain.
Correct Answer: pituitary
Q4.
True or false? The hormone ADH is secreted when there is less water in the blood than normal.
Correct answer: true
false
Q5.
What effect does ADH have on the kidney?
Decreases permeability of the kidney tubules so less water is reabsorbed.
Decreases permeability of the kidney tubules so more water is reabsorbed.
Increases permeability of the kidney tubules so less water is reabsorbed.
Correct answer: Increases permeability of the kidney tubules so more water is reabsorbed.
Q6.
What effect does drinking alcohol have on the control of water balance in the body?
Increases the production of ADH, so less water is reabsorbed.
Increases the production of ADH, so more water is reabsorbed.
Correct answer: Suppresses the production of ADH, so less water is reabsorbed.
Suppresses the production of ADH, so more water is reabsorbed.