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Osmoregulation is the maintenance by an organism of an internal balance between water and dissolved materials regardless of environmental conditions. (True or False)

User Wilsonfoz
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Final answer:

Osmoregulation is the true maintenance of internal water and dissolved materials balance, involving kidneys and other systems to regulate the body's fluids and osmotic pressure, necessary for the survival of organisms.

Step-by-step explanation:

Osmoregulation is indeed the maintenance by an organism of an internal balance between water and dissolved materials regardless of environmental conditions. This statement is True. Osmoregulation involves the process of maintaining salt and water balance (osmotic balance) across membranes within the body's fluids, which comprise water, plus electrolytes and non-electrolytes. Electrolytes are compounds that dissociate into ions when dissolved in water, while non-electrolytes do not dissociate into ions in water. Both contribute to osmotic balance.

Biological systems need osmoregulation to manage the continuous interaction and water and nutrient exchange with the environment, which occurs through consumption and excretion. Kidneys play a central role in this regulation, acting as the main osmoregulatory organs in mammalian systems, essentially filtering blood and maintaining the osmolarity of body fluids. An organism that is an osmoregulator maintains its tonicity irrespective of its environment. The necessity of osmoregulation stems from the body's constant intake and excretion of water and electrolytes, helping the organism avoid the disruption of a desired osmotic pressure and solute concentration in every compartment.

User Binyamin Regev
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