Question

What is osmoregulation ? Explain in detail.

Answer 1

Osmoregulation is the active regulation of the osmotic pressure of an organism's body fluids, detected by osmoreceptors, to maintain the homeostasis of the organism's water content; that is, it maintains the fluid balance and the concentration of electrolytes (salts in solution) to keep the fluids from becoming too diluted or concentrated. Osmotic pressure is a measure of the tendency of water to move into one solution from another by osmosis. The higher the osmotic pressure of a solution, the more water tends to move into it. Pressure must be exerted on the hypertonic side of a selectively permeable membrane to prevent diffusion of water by osmosis from the side containing pure water.

​​​​​​​Osmoregulation, in biology, maintenance by an organism of an internal balance between water and dissolved materials regardless of environmental conditions. In many marine organisms osmosis (the passage of solvent through a semipermeable membrane) occurs without any need for regulatory mechanisms because the cells have the same osmotic pressure as the sea. Other organisms, however, must actively take on, conserve, or excrete water or salts in order to maintain their internal water-mineral content.