Transport Mechanisms and Membrane Potential

Exactly 150 vocabulary-style flashcards based on the provided lecture notes on cell transport, osmosis, tonicity, filtration, and resting membrane potential.

Passive transport

Processes that occur without the use of energy, dependent upon concentration or pressure gradients.

Active transport

A mechanism that moves substances across the cell membrane using energy, often through pumps.

Diffusion

The movement of solute particles from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration.

Osmosis

The movement of solvent (water) across a semipermeable membrane from an area of higher water concentration to an area of lower water concentration.

Filtration

A passive process where the movement of substances across a semipermeable membrane is driven by physical fluid pressure.

Simple diffusion

The movement of lipid-soluble or organic substances directly through the cell membrane without obstruction.

Facilitated diffusion

Diffusion that requires a channel or a carrier to move substances that cannot pass through the cell membrane on their own.

Channel mediated facilitated diffusion

A type of facilitated diffusion specifically dependent upon a channel to pass substances across the membrane.

Carrier mediated facilitated diffusion

A type of facilitated diffusion specifically dependent upon a carrier molecule for transport.

Solvent

In the human body, this is water, the substance in which solutes are dissolved.

Solute

Particles dissolved within a solvent.

Solution

A mixture made up of solute and solvent.

Semipermeable membrane

A barrier that allows the movement of certain substances, like solvent, while blocking others, like solutes.

Tug of war analogy

A concept used to describe osmosis where solute particles pull water toward their side.

Osmotic pressure

The pulling force exerted by solute particles that drives the movement of water during osmosis.

Osmolarity

The measure of the total number of solute particles per unit volume of solution, typically per liter ($dm^3$).

Tonicity

The pressure or tone created by the concentration of nondiffusable solute particles in a solution.

Nondiffusable particles

Solute particles that cannot pass through a semipermeable membrane and thus determine tonicity.

Isotonic solution

A solution that has the same osmotic pressure as blood plasma ($OP_{solution} = OP_{plasma}$).

Blood plasma

The reference solution used in the body to determine the tonicity of other solutions.

Interstitial fluid

Fluid found in the spaces around cells, similar in osmotic pressure to blood plasma.

Hypertonic solution

A solution with a higher concentration of solute particles and greater osmotic pressure than the interior of a cell.

Cremation

The shriveling of a red blood cell ($RBC$) when placed in a hypertonic solution.

Hypotonic solution

A solution with a lower concentration of solute particles and lower osmotic pressure than the interior of a cell.

Lysis

The rupturing of a cell due to excessive swelling when placed in a hypotonic solution.

Normal saline

An isotonic solution used to rapidly replenish blood volume in cases of whole blood loss.

Dextrose

A type of isotonic solution used for fluid replenishment.

Whole blood loss

A clinical scenario where a patient loses both water and solutes in equal amounts, requiring isotonic replenishment.

Dehydration

Condition caused by excessive water loss (e.g., through sweat) where more water is lost than solutes.

Sweat

A fluid lost by the body that contains mostly water and some solutes.

Heat stroke

A clinical scenario resulting in dehydration that often requires hypotonic solution replenishment.

Head trauma

A scenario involving brain injury where swelling (inflammation) must be controlled via hypertonic solutions.

Cranial cavity

A confined space in the skull that limits the ability of the brain to swell without causing damage.

Menatol group

A type of hypertonic solution used to reduce swelling in nervous tissue by pulling water out.

Skull opening

A surgical procedure to release intracranial pressure by removing a portion of the bone.

Gravity

A force that can generate the physical pressure required for the filtration process.

Brita water system

An analogy used to explain filtration where water percolates through a filter due to weight.

Blood pressure

The key pressure generated by the heart that moves plasma across filtering membranes in the kidneys.

Capillaries

Small blood vessels where blood pressure pushes solvent and solutes out through the walls via filtration.

Kidneys

Organs where blood is filtered across a membrane using blood pressure as the driving force.

Transmembrane potential

The difference in electrical charge across the cell membrane.

Ionic concentration difference

The variation in ion levels inside versus outside the cell membrane (e.g., higher $K^+$ inside, higher $Na^+$ outside).

Potassium ($K^+$)

The primary ion that is more concentrated inside the cell.

Sodium ($Na^+$)

The primary ion that is more concentrated outside the cell.

Leak channels

Channels that allow ions like potassium to move down their concentration gradient continuously.

Potassium leak channels

Channels through which potassium leaks out of the cell, establishing the resting membrane potential.

Sodium leak channels

Fewer in number than potassium channels, these allow a small amount of sodium to leak into the cell.

Resting membrane potential ($RMP/RNP$)

The stable voltage across a cell membrane when the cell is not being stimulated.

$$-70\,mV$$

An average value for the potential gradient across a resting cell membrane.

$$-80\,mV$$

A value within the range of potential gradients for certain cells.

Sodium potassium pump

A mechanism that maintains the resting membrane potential by pumping $3\,Na^+$ out and $2\,K^+$ in.

$$-90\,mV$$

One possible potential gradient for cells with high potassium leakage.

Equilibrium exchange

A state where the amount of water moving across a membrane in both directions is equal per unit time.

Pulling force

The effect solute particles have on water molecules, described as osmotic pressure.

Diffusable solute

Solute particles, such as $x, y, z$, that can pass through a semipermeable membrane and do not affect tonicity.

Inflamed brain tissue

Nervous tissue that swells after trauma, potentially causing permanent damage if not treated.

Capillary filtration

The movement of water and solutes out of small blood vessels due to blood pressure.

Renal system

The body system where filtration is a primary mechanism for processing blood.

Cardiovascular system

The system responsible for generating the blood pressure that drives filtration.

Establishing the RNP

The process of creating the initial charge difference, primarily due to potassium leak channels.

Maintaining the RNP

The process of preserving the charge difference, primarily due to the sodium potassium pump.

Stimulated cell

A cell influenced by an external stimulus, causing its membrane potential to change.

Depolarization

A change in membrane potential where the inside of the cell becomes less negative.

Hyperpolarization

A change in membrane potential where the polarity is enhanced, making the inside more negative.

Repolarization

The process of a cell membrane returning to its resting state after being depolarized.

Polarity

The state of having negative and positive poles across a cell membrane.

Cell-to-cell interaction

Communication between cells, such as neurons and muscles, facilitated by membrane potentials.

Visual learner

A person who retains information best by seeing, drawing, and repeating diagrams.

Auditory learner

A person who benefits from hearing information, such as reading text out loud.

Active recall

A study technique involving writing out all known points on a blank paper to identify knowledge gaps.

Flowchart

A visual representation of a sequence (e.g., $A \rightarrow B \rightarrow C \rightarrow D$) used to understand physiological steps.

Concept map

A diagram that links various facts together to form a complete understanding of a topic.

Panopto

The platform where the lecture videos are stored.

$$-69\,mV$$

An example of a potential becoming less negative during depolarization.

$$3\,Na^+$$

The number of sodium ions pumped out of the cell by the sodium potassium pump.

$$2\,K^+$$

The number of potassium ions pumped into the cell by the sodium potassium pump.

NaCl

Sodium chloride, used as an example solute for demonstrating osmosis.

Pressure gradient

The difference in pressure that moves substances from high to low pressure areas.

Concentration gradient

The difference in the amount of a substance between two areas that drives diffusion.

Organic substance

Substances like lipids that can pass through the cell membrane without obstruction via simple diffusion.

Uninterrupted sodium influx

A hypothetical situation where sodium leaks in without being pumped out, which would cancel the negative charge.

External stimulus

Any influence from outside that changes the resting state of the cell.

Refining study technique

The process of analyzing how one studies to improve retention and application.

High intensity class

Characterization of the course requiring more than just memorization, focusing on application.

Clinical scenario

A medical situation used to apply the understanding of physiological concepts like osmosis.

Table summary

A tool used to review large chunks of information in a short period of time.

Equilibrium

A balanced state reached when concentration gradients no longer drive net movement.

Negative charge inside

The electrical state of the cell interior relative to the outside in a resting state.

Positive charge outside

The electrical state of the cell exterior relative to the inside in a resting state.

Millivolts ($mV$)

The unit of measurement for the transmembrane potential.

Weight of water

The physical factor that generates pressure in a desktop water filtering container.

Frictional membrane

The barrier in a filter that substances must pass through during filtration.

Intranervous communication

Interaction between neurons that relies on maintained membrane potentials.

Nervous tissue

Tissue where transmembrane potential is a critical topic, often covered in Chapter 12.

Muscle chapter

The upcoming section of study where transmembrane potential concepts will be applied.

Sequence of changes

The specific order of events in a physiological process tracked in a flowchart.

Information rich

Description of the course content which emphasizes linking facts to form concepts.

Two videos

The specific number of recordings provided for the day due to a recording interruption.

Solubility

The ability of a substance to dissolve, specifically lipid solubility for simple diffusion.

Milligram ($mg$)

A unit of measurement for solute quantity used in the instructor's examples.