Homeostasis and Cellular Transport Practice

Flashcards covering homeostasis, negative feedback, organelle function, and membrane transport mechanisms based on lecture quiz reflections.

Homeostasis

A state of cellular equilibrium maintained through both passive and active transport mechanisms and complex interactions between organelles and the cell membrane.

Active transport

A mechanism crucial for maintaining concentration gradients, cellular energy balance, and precise ion regulation; it requires membrane proteins and consumes cellular energy.

Sodium-potassium pump

An essential active transport process for maintaining membrane potential and cellular equilibrium.

Negative feedback mechanisms

Fundamental self-regulating systems that maintain stability by initiating corrective actions to move physiological parameters back towards an optimal range when they deviate.

Mitochondria

Primary sites of energy production through oxidative phosphorylation that regulate ATP generation, manage metabolic substrates, and participate in apoptosis and calcium signaling.

Rough endoplasmic reticulum

An organelle consisting of a network of membranous tubules and sacs involved in protein folding, modification, and transport.

Phospholipid bilayer

An amphipathic structure with hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails that creates a semipermeable barrier, which is crucial for selective permeability.

Osmosis

A passive process that does not require energy, involving the movement of water across a membrane from a hypomatic region to a hyperosmotic region.

Carrier proteins

Specific membrane proteins that are characterized as being saturable.

Fick's laws

Principles that describe how diffusion depends on concentration gradients within cellular transport.

Selective permeability

A feature of the cell membrane that allows essential molecules like oxygen and nutrients to pass while preventing the passage of potentially harmful substances.