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Osmotic pressure is the minimum pressure which needs to be applied to a solution to prevent the inward flow of its pure solvent across a semipermeable membrane. [1] It is also defined as the measure of the tendency of a solution to take in its pure solvent by osmosis .
The rate at which fluid is filtered across vascular endothelium (transendothelial filtration) is determined by the sum of two outward forces, capillary pressure and interstitial protein osmotic pressure (), and two absorptive forces, plasma protein osmotic pressure and interstitial pressure (). The Starling equation describes these forces in ...
Osmoregulation is the active regulation of the osmotic pressure of an organism's body fluids, detected by osmoreceptors, to maintain the homeostasis of the organism's water content; that is, it maintains the fluid balance and the concentration of electrolytes (salts in solution which in this case is represented by body fluid) to keep the body fluids from becoming too diluted or concentrated.
When the solutes around a cell become more or less concentrated, osmotic pressure causes water to flow into or out of the cell to equilibrate. [8] This osmotic stress inhibits cellular functions that depend on the activity of water in the cell, such as the functioning of its DNA and protein systems and proper assembly of its plasma membrane. [9]
An osmoreceptor is a sensory receptor primarily found in the hypothalamus of most homeothermic organisms that detects changes in osmotic pressure.Osmoreceptors can be found in several structures, including two of the circumventricular organs – the vascular organ of the lamina terminalis, and the subfornical organ.
Osmotic concentration, formerly known as osmolarity, [1] is the measure of solute concentration, defined as the number of osmoles (Osm) of solute per litre (L) of solution (osmol/L or Osm/L). The osmolarity of a solution is usually expressed as Osm/L (pronounced "osmolar"), in the same way that the molarity of a solution is expressed as "M ...
An osmometer is a device for measuring the osmotic strength of a solution, colloid, or compound. There are several different techniques employed in osmometry: Freezing point depression osmometers may also be used to determine the osmotic strength of a solution, as osmotically active compounds depress the freezing point of a solution. This is ...
The process stops and equilibrium is attained when the pressure difference equals the osmotic pressure. Two laws governing the osmotic pressure of a dilute solution were discovered by the German botanist W. F. P. Pfeffer and the Dutch chemist J. H. van’t Hoff: The osmotic pressure of a dilute solution at constant temperature is directly ...