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Osmoreceptor

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osmoreceptor [¦äz·mō·ri′sep·tər]
(physiology)
One of a group of structures in the hypothalamus which respond to changes in osmotic pressure of the blood by regulating the secretion of the neurohypophyseal antidiuretic hormone.

Osmoreceptor 

a terminal structure of sensory nerves that reacts to changes, in the concentration of osmotically active substances, that is, to changes in osmotic pressure in the surrounding fluid. Osmoreceptors are found in various animal organs and tissues, such as the liver and pancreas. Impulses from osmoreceptors reach the divisions of the central nervous system that participate in the regulation of water-salt metabolism. Osmoreception is controlled by neurons of the supraoptic nuclei in the hypothalamus. These neurons can perceive fluctuations of as low as 1–2 percent in the osmotic pressure of plasma, and when the osmotic pressure increases, they elaborate the hormone vasopressin, which is stored in the hypophysis. Vasopressin, the antidiuretic hormone, alters the permeability of the walls of the renal tubules when it is released into the blood, thereby reducing the amount of urine excreted.



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This occurs because alcohol confuses osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus, which relay osmotic pressure information to the posterior pituitary the site of ADH release.
Molecular characterization of an aquaporin cDNA from brain: candidate osmoreceptor and regulator of water balance.
Osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus itself cause the pituitary to increase ADH levels when plasma osmolality increases as little as 1-2% [2,7] Baroreceptors, especially in the heart and the carotid sinus, [10] monitor changes in blood volume and pressure and indirectly signal the hypothalamus to regulate ADH according to perceived changes.
 
 
 
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