The document summarizes the physiology of thirst. It describes how water deprivation activates receptors in the nervous system that detect a decrease in water levels. This initiates drinking behavior to restore normal water levels. The hypothalamus regulates water content through two mechanisms - the thirst mechanism and the antidiuretic hormone mechanism. The thirst center in the hypothalamus contains osmoreceptors that detect increases in the osmolality of extracellular fluid. When osmolality rises 1-2%, it stimulates the osmoreceptors and the thirst response.