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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.
The process of osmosis over a semipermeable membrane.The blue dots represent particles driving the osmotic gradient. Osmosis (/ ɒ z ˈ m oʊ s ɪ s /, US also / ɒ s-/) [1] is the spontaneous net movement or diffusion of solvent molecules through a selectively-permeable membrane from a region of high water potential (region of lower solute concentration) to a region of low water potential ...
Osmotic pressure is an important factor affecting biological cells. [4] Osmoregulation is the homeostasis mechanism of an organism to reach balance in osmotic pressure. Hypertonicity is the presence of a solution that causes cells to shrink. Hypotonicity is the presence of a solution that causes cells to swell.
In hypertonic solutions water flows out of the cell and the cell shrinks (plasmolysis). In hypotonic solutions, water flows into the cell and the cell swells ( turgescence ). Osmotic shock or osmotic stress is physiologic dysfunction caused by a sudden change in the solute concentration around a cell , which causes a rapid change in the ...
In biology, membrane fluidity refers to the viscosity of the lipid bilayer of a cell membrane or a synthetic lipid membrane. Lipid packing can influence the fluidity of the membrane. Viscosity of the membrane can affect the rotation and diffusion of proteins and other bio-molecules within the membrane, there-by affecting the functions of these ...
Osmosis – Migration of molecules to a region of lower solute concentration; Proteostasis – biological pathways within cells that control the biogenesis, folding, trafficking and degradation of proteins present within and outside the cell; Senescence – Deterioration of function with age
For cells without a cell wall such as animal cells, if the gradient is large enough, the uptake of excess water can produce enough pressure to induce cytolysis, or rupturing of the cell. When plant cells are in a hypotonic solution, the central vacuole takes on extra water and pushes the cell membrane against the cell wall. Due to the rigidity ...
In terms of membrane transport the gradient is of interest as it contributes to decreased system entropy in the co-transport of substances against their gradient. One of the most important pumps in animal cells is the sodium potassium pump, that operates through the following mechanism: [9]