Video Transcript
Which pituitary gland hormone is
responsible for stimulating the reabsorption of water by the kidneys?
The pituitary gland is an important
organ in the human endocrine system that is located at the base of the brain. It is often referred to as the
master gland, as it is responsible for producing and secreting a wide range of
different hormones, including some that can affect the action of other endocrine
glands.
The pituitary gland is divided into
two main lobes: the anterior lobe, which is located closer to the front of the
brain, and the posterior lobe, which is located closer to the back of the brain. Something that might help you
remember this is that the letter A is closer to the front of the alphabet than the
letter P.
Let’s discuss a few of the
different hormones that the pituitary gland secretes to work out which one is
responsible for stimulating the reabsorption of water by the kidneys.
Follicle-stimulating hormone, or
FSH, is produced and secreted by the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland and is
responsible for stimulating the development of an egg cell in a biological female’s
ovary during the menstrual cycle.
Luteinizing hormone, or LH, is
another hormone produced and released from the anterior pituitary gland and is
responsible for triggering the release of this egg cell from the ovary. In fact, the anterior pituitary
gland produces and secretes a total of six different hormones that have major
effects throughout the body.
In contrast, the posterior
pituitary gland acts more as a storage place for hormones that are produced in the
hypothalamus in the brain. One such hormone that is stored in
the posterior pituitary gland before being secreted into the bloodstream is
oxytocin, which stimulates uterine contractions during childbirth in biological
females.
Another hormone that is secreted
from the posterior pituitary gland is called antidiuretic hormone, sometimes
referred to as ADH or vasopressin. ADH acts upon the kidneys,
stimulating them to reabsorb water into the blood so that less water is excreted as
a part of urine. This causes the blood pressure to
increase and urine to become more concentrated.
Now, we have enough information to
answer our question. The pituitary gland hormone
responsible for stimulating the reabsorption of water by the kidneys is ADH.
