1 Flashcards
Exocytosis
Exocytosis is a process in which an intracellular vesicle moves to the plasma membrane and subsequent fusion of the vesicular membrane and plasma membrane ensues. Many cellular processes involve exocytosis.
Phagocytosis
In cell biology, phagocytosis meaning “cell”, and -osis, meaning “process”, is the process by which a cell—often a phagocyte or a protist—engulfs a solid particle to form an internal vesicle known as a phagosome.
Contractile vacuole
A contractile vacuole is a sub-cellular structure (organelle) involved in osmoregulation. It is found predominantly in protists and in unicellular algae. It was previously known as pulsatile or pulsating vacuole.
Osmosis
Osmosis is the spontaneous net movement of solvent molecules through a semi-permeable membrane into a region of higher solute concentration, in the direction that tends to equalize the solute concentrations on the two sides.
Facilitated diffusion
is the process of spontaneous passive transport of molecules or ions across a biological membrane via specific transmembrane integral proteins.
Carrier proteins
Channel proteins facilitate the diffusion of different molecules, while carrier proteins are involved in the movement of ions, small molecules, or macromolecules, such as another protein, across a biological membrane.
Plasmolysis
Plasmolysis is the process in which cells lose water in a hypertonic solution. The reverse process, cytolysis, can occur if the cell is in a hypotonic solution resulting in a lower external osmotic pressure and a net flow of water into the cell.
Vesicle
fluid- or air-filled cavity or sac, in particular
Concentration gradient
The formal definition of concentration gradient is the process of particles, which are sometimes called solutes, moving through a solution or gas from an area of higher number of particles to an area of lower number of particles. The areas are typically separated by a membrane.
Equilibrium
Every thing is equal
Turgor pressure
Turgor pressure pushes the plasma membrane against the cell wall of plant, bacteria, and fungi cells as well as those protist cells which have cell walls.
Phagocyte
Phagocytes are cells that protect the body by ingesting (phagocytosing) harmful foreign particles, bacteria, and dead or dying cells.
Ion channel
Ion channels are pore-forming membrane proteins whose functions include establishing a resting membrane potential, shaping action potentials and other electrical signals by gating the flow of ions across the cell membrane, controlling the flow of ions across secretory and epithelial cells, and regulating cell volume.
Cytolysis
Cytolysis, or osmotic lysis, occurs when a cell bursts due to an osmotic imbalance that has caused excess water to move into the cell.
Isotonic
Stays the same in size
Hypotonic
Reduces in size
Hypertonic
Growing in size
Diffusion
Diffusion refers to the process by which molecules intermingle as a result of their kinetic energy of random motion. Consider two containers of gas A and B separated by a partition. The molecules of both gases are in constant motion and make numerous collisions with the partition.
Passive transport
Passive transport is a movement of biochemicals and other atomic or molecular substances across cell membranes without need of energy input.
Active transport
Active transport is the movement of molecules across a cell membrane in the direction against some gradient or other obstructing factor (often a concentration gradient).
Sodium potassium pump
The process of moving sodium and potassium ions across the cell membrance is an active transport process
Endocytosis
Endocytosis is a form of active transport in which a cell transports woa. molecules (such as proteins) into the cell (endo- + cytosis) by engulfing them in an energy-using process.
Pinocytosis
In cellular biology, pinocytosis (pino- + cytosis), otherwise known as cell drinking, fluid endocytosis, and bulk-phase pinocytosis, is a mode of endocytosis in which small particles are brought into the cell, forming an invagination, and then suspended within small vesicles.
