Which statement about osmoregulation is correct?

Which statement about osmoregulation is correct?

• A. Osmoregulation refers to regulating body temperature.
• B. Osmoregulation is the regulation of water and solute concentrations; kidneys maintain blood osmolarity.
• C. Osmoregulation only occurs in plants.
• D. Osmoregulation results from active transport of glucose.

Answer: (B)

Osmoregulation is about maintaining stable water and solute balance so cells can function properly. The kidneys regulate blood osmolarity by filtering blood and carefully adjusting the reabsorption of water and various ions, keeping plasma osmolarity within a narrow range. This involves hormones like ADH and aldosterone that tweak how much water and solutes are retained or excreted. The other ideas miss the core idea: regulating body temperature is thermoregulation, not osmoregulation; osmoregulation isn’t limited to plants, as animals regulate their internal osmotic environment too; and while solute transport helps create osmotic gradients, osmoregulation isn’t defined by transporting glucose alone. The best statement describes osmoregulation as the regulation of water and solute concentrations, with the kidneys maintaining blood osmolarity.

Osmoregulation is about maintaining stable water and solute balance so cells can function properly. The kidneys regulate blood osmolarity by filtering blood and carefully adjusting the reabsorption of water and various ions, keeping plasma osmolarity within a narrow range. This involves hormones like ADH and aldosterone that tweak how much water and solutes are retained or excreted.

The other ideas miss the core idea: regulating body temperature is thermoregulation, not osmoregulation; osmoregulation isn’t limited to plants, as animals regulate their internal osmotic environment too; and while solute transport helps create osmotic gradients, osmoregulation isn’t defined by transporting glucose alone. The best statement describes osmoregulation as the regulation of water and solute concentrations, with the kidneys maintaining blood osmolarity.