Question

If adrenal cortex function is impaired, it results in decreased concentration of which one of the following in the blood.
(a) Ammonium salts
(b) Sodium salts
(c) Glucose
(d) Calcium salts

Answer 1

Hint: It can cause the retention of water in the body by increasing the levels of ions in the blood, which causes the body to reabsorb more water. At the point when blood pressure is low, the enzyme renin is released, which cleaves the protein angiotensinogen into angiotensin I, which additionally converted into angiotensin II.

Complete answer:
The outermost layer of the adrenal cortex (zona glomerulosa) is the main site for the production of aldosterone, a mineralocorticoid, by the action of the enzyme aldosterone synthase. Aldosterone's effects are on the distal convoluted tubule and collecting duct of the kidney, where it causes increased reabsorption of sodium and increased excretion of potassium. Thus, in adrenal cortex dysfunction, sodium concentration decreases in blood.

Additional Information: The hormone responsible for keeping up electrolyte concentrations in extracellular fluids is aldosterone, a steroid hormone that is produced by the adrenal cortex. Rather than ADH, which promotes the reabsorption of water to keep up appropriate water balance, aldosterone maintains proper water balance by enhancing Na+ reabsorption and K+ secretion from the extracellular fluid of the cells in kidney tubules. Since it is produced in the cortex of the adrenal gland and it influences the concentrations of minerals Na+ and K+, aldosterone is alluded to as a mineralocorticoid, a corticosteroid that affects ion and water balance. It additionally prevents the loss of Na+ from sweat, saliva, and gastric juice. The reabsorption of Na+ likewise brings about the osmotic reabsorption of water, which changes blood volume and blood pressure.
So the correct answer is ‘Sodium salt’.

Note: Cells in the juxtaglomerular apparatus, which controls the functions of the nephrons of the kidney, distinguish this, and release renin. Renin, an enzyme, circulates in the blood, responding with a plasma protein produced by the liver called angiotensinogen. When angiotensinogen is cleaved by renin, it produces angiotensin I, which is then changed into angiotensin II in the lungs.