Hormones: Vasopressin
Anti-diuretic hormone acts to maintain blood pressure, blood volume and tissue water content by controlling the amount of water and hence the concentration of urine excreted by the kidney. Alternative names for anti-diuretic hormone Vasopressin; arginine vasopressin; AVP; ADH. What is anti-diuretic hormone? Anti-diuretic hormone is made by special nerve cells found in an area at the base of the brain known as the hypothalamus. The nerve cells transport the hormone down their nerve fibres (axons) to the pituitary gland where the hormone is released into the blood stream. Anti-diuretic hormone helps to control blood pressure by acting on the kidneys and the blood vessels. Its most important role is to conserve the fluid volume of your body by reducing the amount of water passed out in the urine. It does this by allowing water in the urine to be taken back into the body in a specific area of the kidney. Thus, more water returns to the bloodstream, urine concentration rises and w...