Final answer:
The final area for tubular reabsorption in the nephron is the collecting duct. The correct answer is option d.
Step-by-step explanation:
The area of the nephron which serves as the final resort for tubular reabsorption and is dependent on body needs is the collecting duct. This part of the nephron is responsible for the fine-tuning of water recovery or disposal based on the body's hydration status and is influenced by hormones such as antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and aldosterone. Specifically, the collecting duct adjusts the final concentration of urine by reabsorbing more water when the body needs to conserve it or excreting more if there is an excess.
It does not directly reabsorb nutrients like the proximal convoluted tubule or ions like the distal convoluted tubule but instead modulates overall water balance. Comparatively, the glomerulus is involved in filtration, not reabsorption, the loop of Henle is mainly focused on creating a concentration gradient, and the distal convoluted tubule has already conducted much of the active reabsorption necessary.
To clarify the false statement in the quiz, option (a), 'The collecting duct empties into the distal convoluted tubule.', is not true. The correct sequence is that the filtrate flows from the glomerulus to the Bowman's capsule, through the proximal convoluted tubule, down the loop of Henle, into the distal convoluted tubule, and finally into the collecting ducts which lead to the renal pelvis.