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Posterior Pituitary Hormones — FRCA Primary MCQ

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HardPhysiology - Endocrine & MetabolicPosterior Pituitary HormonesFRCA Primary

After a posterior-pituitary stalk lesion, a patient develops polyuria that responds to desmopressin. Which cellular event normally precedes release of the deficient endogenous hormone into the systemic circulation?

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Correct answer: B — Hypothalamic synthesis followed by axonal transport to the posterior pituitary

The best answer is “Hypothalamic synthesis followed by axonal transport to the posterior pituitary”. Vasopressin is synthesised in hypothalamic nuclei, packaged with its carrier protein and transported down axons to the posterior pituitary, where it is stored and released. The anterior pituitary produces ACTH rather than vasopressin. Renal filtration is a clearance route, not synthesis, and neither the pulmonary endothelium nor adrenal cortex produces vasopressin.

Reference: RCoA, Primary FRCA syllabus: https://www.rcoa.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/2026-01/Primary-FRCA-Syllabus.pdf; Renal water transport in health and disease: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9338902/