cell membranes
Living container walls
Cell membranes are the thin, flexible barriers that enclose cells and control what enters and leaves them.
Made primarily of lipids and proteins, they separate the cell's interior from its environment while allowing selective passage of molecules.
The term applies both to the outer boundary of cells and to membranes surrounding internal structures like the nucleus: The drug works by disrupting bacterial cell membranes.
- fluid mosaic modelCell membrane structural theory
- phospholipidsLipids with phosphate groups
- lipidsWater-insoluble biomolecules
- proteinsAmino acid polymers
- aquaporinsMembrane proteins transporting water
fluidity · cholesterol · selectivity · semipermeable · fatty · osmotic pressure · transport · plasma · mitochondria · barrier · diffusion · boundary · glycolipids · cellular · surface · microvilli · ion · porous
- Bioelectricsbioelectricity, electrotherapy, electrical stimulation, action potential, depolarization
- membranesnuclear envelope, amnion, meninges, pericardium, peritoneum
- microstructuresmitochondria, ribosomes, lysosomes, centrioles, vacuoles
- Lipidslipid, fatty acids, free fatty acids, fats, triglycerides
- neuroscienceneuron, MRI, brain, neurons, synapses
- Early Earthprimordial soup, early life, abiogenesis, prokaryotes, single-celled organisms
cell membranescell walls
Rigid outer layer of plant, fungal, and bacterial units
cell membranescytoplasm
Gel surrounding the nucleus
cytosol · organelles · cytoskeleton · nucleus
cell, membrane, membranes, permeability, cell membrane, plasma membrane