If a desert hiker, severely dehydrated and with elevated plasma osmolality, develops a mutation that completely disables aquaporins in the collecting ducts of their kidneys, which consequence follows?

💡 Explanation

In dehydration, elevated plasma osmolality triggers ADH release, which normally increases aquaporin expression in the collecting ducts to enhance water reabsorption. If aquaporins are non-functional, this compensatory mechanism fails, because the collecting ducts cannot reabsorb water, therefore profound water loss occurs, rather than water retention or osmotic balance restoration.

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