Liquid Harmony: How Our Bodies Manage Salt and Water
What does it take to stay alive? On this ID the Future, host Eric Anderson concludes his conversation with physician Howard Glicksman about the remarkable systems in the human body that help control water and sodium to keep us alive.
Left to their own devices, the laws of nature tend toward degradation and death, not life. To survive, living things are endowed with the power to innovate remarkable solutions to the formidable challenges of life. One such problem? How to regulate water volume and sodium intake at the cellular level. In Part 1, Dr. Glicksman discussed the first two of four systems that work in tandem to regulate water and sodium: arterial receptors in the sympathetic nervous system that monitor blood pressure, as well as the kidneys’ ability to promote retention of salt.
In Part 2, Dr. Glicksman discusses two more innovations that add a “push-pull” effect to the systems discussed in Part 1. First, a sensor in the heart that kicks into action when water or sodium levels get too high. Second, an anti-diuretic system in the hypothalamus that detects cell shrinkage and promotes water retention. In true engineering fashion, these systems are interdependent and tightly integrated, working together in unison (along with your own active participation!) to safeguard your body and help you live your best life.
This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation. Listen to Part 1.
DIG DEEPER
- Dive into the marvels of engineering that keep our bodies alive in the book Your Designed Body by Dr. Glicksman and Steve Laufman
Listen to more episodes with Dr. Glicksman: