water balance, blood and immunity Flashcards
describe the structure of cell membranes
phospholipid bilayer
very flexible,
excellent insulators,
dynamic,
selectively permeable
embedded with proteins
describe the phospholipid bilayer
made up of a phosphate head (hydrophilic, lipophobic) and fatty acid tails (hyrophobic, lipophilic)
functions of the cell membrane
osmosis
diffusion
cell to cell communication
types of membrane proteins
integral
peripheral
enzymes
structural
communication
what are integral proteins
span the hydrophobic core of the lipid bilayer (all the way through membrane)
examples of integral proteins
receptors
transporters
what are peripheral proteins
associated with only the phosphate head of the bilayer (only top of membrane)
what are membrane enzymes
membrane enzymes catalyse chemical reactions on the cell membrane
what do structural proteins do
anchor the cell membrane to the intracellular skeleton to the EC matrix
how is an electrochemical gradient made?
he ions creating the concentration gradients are charged particles there is also a difference in charge across the membrane
different mechanisms of movement of particles across the membrane
- diffusion
- active transport
- osmosis
- filtration
describe the process of endocytosis
invagination of cell membrane to form a vesicle which eventually disintegrates on the cytoplasmic surface of the membrane releasing contents
describe the process of exocytosis
the reverse process: cells migrate to cell membrane where a vesicle is formed and enters the cell
define diffusion
molecules spread from regions of high concentration to regions of low concentration until the concentration is uniform throughout the volume
factors favouring diffusion
- temperature,
- concentration gradient,
- size of the molecule, and
- the presence of a membrane
describe passive diffusion
substance moves directly through the lipid bilayer
requirements for passive diffusion
molecules must be small, uncharged and lipophilic (hydrophobic)
describe facilitated diffusion
substance requires assistance from membrane proteins to cross the lipid bilayer
difference between facilitated diffusion and active transport
- Active transport involves transport proteins, and facilitated diffusion does not
- active transport pumps molecules against their electrochemical gradient
what is meant by carrier mediated transport systems
- proteins with binding sites for the solutes they transport
- after binding they undergo a change in shape which exposes the binding site on the other side of the membrane
define osmosis
net movement of H2O from regions of high concentration to regions of low concentration
what does osmolarity mean
the total number of particles in a solution
osmolarity of normal human plasma
285 (300) osmols
what is tonicity
the number of non-penetrating particles in a solution
what happens to cells in hypotonic solutions
they swell as water enters down a chemical gradient
what happens to cells in hypertonic solutions
they shrink as water leaves down a chemical gradient
what is an isosmotic solution
a solution with the same total number of solute particles as normal ECF (300)
what does hypo-osmotic mean
fewer total solute particles
what does hyper-osmotic mean
greater total solute particles
what is an isotonic solution
a solution with the same number of non-penetrating solute particles as normal ECF
what does hypotonic mean
fewer non-penetrating solute particles
what does hypertonic mean
greater non-penetrating solute particles