The anterior wall of the third cerebral ventricle and homeostatic responses to dehydration

Within the anterior wall of the third cerebral ventricle, structures are found which have been implicated in the regulation of fluid and electrolyte balance. These structures include the subfornical organ (SFO), preoptic medianus nucleus (PMN) and the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (OVLT). In sheep, the OVLT rises from the ventricular floor over the optic chiasma and occupies most of the midline ventricular wall up to the level of anterior commissure. It contains a plexus of blood vessels at its base which possess fenestrated endothelial cells, and appears to lack ependyma. The SFO of sheep bulges into the third ventricle above the anterior commissure and the PMN is situated between the SFO and OVLT, surrounding the rostral edge of the midline anterior commissure. Like most mammals, water deprivation in sheep results in hypertonicity of body fluids, thirst and graded increase in plasma concentration of vasopressin (AVP). Dehydration also causes a natriuresis in these animals. In sheep with combined ablation of OVLT/PMN tissue, the volume of water drunk, the increases in plasma vasopressin (AVP) level, and the natriuresis in response to dehydration were considerably attenuated, and extreme hypernatremia resulted. Additionally, ablation of OVLT/PMN tissue almost abolished water drinking and AVP secretion in response to systemic infusion of hypertonic NaCl, but did not diminish AVP secretion in response to haemorrhage. In other animals, the OVLT and PMN were individually ablated. While partial osmoregulatory deficits were observed in each case, these deficits were smaller than those observed with combined OVLT/PMN ablation. In contrast to these results, the homeostatic responses to dehydration were not diminished in sheep with combined SFO/PMN lesions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)