HKDSE BIOLOGY: Connecting Concepts Revision notes

33 Regulation of water content

33.1 Importance of regulation of water content

1. Our body can balance the amount of water gain and loss every day.
This keeps the water potential of the blood and tissue fluid
constant, thus maintaining a stable environment for the cells to
function properly.

2. Osmoregulation is the regulation of water content in the body. In

humans, it is mainly achieved by regulating the amount of water lost
in urine. Urine is produced by the kidneys.

33.2 Human urinary system

3. The human urinary system consists of a pair of kidneys, two ureters,
a urinary bladder and a urethra.

4. A kidney is composed of an outer cortex, an inner medulla and a

central chamber called the pelvis.

5. Nephrons are the functional units of the kidneys. They are orderly
arranged within the cortex and medulla.

33.3 Processes in urine formation

6. Formation of urine involves ultrafiltration and reabsorption.

7. Ultrafiltration takes place at the glomerulus. The higher hydrostatic

pressure inside the glomerulus forces water and other small
molecules out of the blood through the walls of the glomerulus and
the Bowman’s capsule into the capsular space, forming glomerular
filtrate.

8. Glomerular filtrate has a composition similar to that of blood plasma

but contains no plasma proteins.
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9. Reabsorption takes place at different parts of the kidney tubule by

different mechanisms:

Site of reabsorption
Substance Percentage
Mechanism First Loop Second
Collecting
reabsorbed reabsorbed coiled of coiled
duct
tubule Henle tubule
Glucose 100% Diffusion
and active 
transport
Amino 100% Diffusion
acids and active 
transport
Salts 80% Diffusion
and active    
transport
Water 99% Osmosis    
Urea 50% Diffusion    

10. The kidneys are well adapted for carrying out ultrafiltration and
reabsorption:

Features Significance
(i) Each kidney contains over a This maintains a high filtration rate
million nephrons. and removes wastes from the blood
effectively.
(ii) The walls of the glomerulus and Only certain small molecules
the Bowman’s capsule are thin (including metabolic wastes) in the
and differentially permeable. blood can pass through their walls
and enter the Bowman’s capsule.
Blood cells and plasma proteins are
retained in the blood.

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HKDSE BIOLOGY: Connecting Concepts Revision notes

Features Significance
(iii) The proximal convoluted tubule This greatly increases the surface
is long and highly coiled. Its area and lengthens the time for
inner wall is lined with reabsorption.
microvilli.
(iv) The wall of the proximal This shortens the distance for
convoluted tubule is only one- reabsorption of substances from the
cell thick and the tubules are glomerular filtrate into the blood.
in close contact with blood
capillaries.
(v) The cells in the wall of the This provides sufficient energy for
proximal convoluted tubule the active transport of useful
contain numerous substances back into the blood.
mitochondria.
(vi) Each kidney tubule is The reabsorbed substances can be
surrounded by a dense transported away quickly. This
network of capillaries. maintains a steep concentration
gradient for rapid reabsorption of
substances from the glomerular
filtrate into the blood.

11. As the glomerular filtrate flows along the kidney tubules, useful
substances and some water are reabsorbed. The remaining fluid that
has not been reabsorbed is called urine which contains mainly water,
salts, urea and other metabolic wastes.

33.4 Functions of the kidneys

12. The kidneys are responsible for osmoregulation and excretion.

13. Osmoregulation is mainly achieved by regulating the proportion of

water reabsorbed along the collecting duct under the action of the
antidiuretic hormone (ADH).
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HKDSE BIOLOGY: Connecting Concepts Revision notes

14. ADH is produced by the hypothalamus of the brain, and is stored

and released by the pituitary gland.

15. The action of ADH and the kidneys in osmoregulation:

When the water potential of When the water potential of

the blood rises the blood falls

 Osmoreceptors in the  Osmoreceptors in the

hypothalamus detect an hypothalamus detect a
increase in the water potential decrease in the water potential
of the blood. of the blood.

 The pituitary gland releases less  The pituitary gland releases

ADH into the blood circulation. more ADH into the blood
circulation.
 As a result, the wall of the
collecting duct of the kidney  As a result, the wall of the
tubule becomes less permeable collecting duct of the kidney
to water. tubule becomes more
permeable to water.
 Thus, a smaller proportion of
water is reabsorbed and a  Thus, a larger proportion of
larger volume of dilute urine is water is reabsorbed and a
formed. smaller volume of
concentrated urine is formed.

16. Excretion refers to the removal of metabolic wastes (e.g. carbon

dioxide and urea) from the body.

17. Urea is produced in the liver as a by-product of the breakdown of

excess amino acids through deamination. Once produced, it diffuses
into the blood. During urine formation, urea and other wastes in the
blood are forced out from the glomerulus into the Bowman’s
capsule by ultrafiltration and some is excreted as urine.

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HKDSE BIOLOGY: Connecting Concepts Revision notes

33.5 Kidney failure and dialysis machines

18. Kidney failure can be treated by haemodialysis using a dialysis
machine. Haemodialysis removes wastes and excess salts from the
blood.

19. A dialysis machine consists of dialysis tubing bathed in dialysis fluid.

• The dialysis tubing is differentially permeable and has pores to
allow small molecules to pass through but blood cells and plasma
proteins cannot.
• The composition of the dialysis fluid is similar to that of blood
plasma but free of urea.

20. When blood from a patient flows along the dialysis tubing, urea in
the blood diffuses out into the dialysis fluid along the
concentration gradient. There is no net flow of essential
substances such as glucose and amino acids from the blood into the
dialysis fluid.

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