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Biological Membranes as Selective Barriers to Diffusion of Molecules

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Membrane Transport

Part of the book series: People and Ideas ((PEOPL))

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Abstract

The initial concept of the membrane as a structure or interface that separates the cell from its environment—be it some sort of interstitium, as in the case of a tissue, or a suspension mediumsuch as seawater or blood plasma—was, of necessity, a consequence of the primary generalization, usually attributed to Schwann, that the behavior of a tissue, be it plant or animal, is governed by the coordinated activities of the individual cells of which it is composed. Thus the cell, being the unit of tissue structure, must be limited by some layer that preserves its identity and prevents its fusion with adjacent cells. The history of the development of the concept of the cell membrane depended mostly on studies of the plant cell because it lent itself so much more readily to microscopical examination than the animal cell, especially under experimental conditions. The plant cell differs from the animal cell by the presence of a well-defined and microscopically resolvable cellulose wall that separates it from its neighbors in a tissue or from its fluid environment, as in single-celled organisms such as algae.

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Authors
  1. Hugh Davson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Daniel C. Tosteson (Dean) (Dean)

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© 1989 American Physiological Society

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Davson, H. (1989). Biological Membranes as Selective Barriers to Diffusion of Molecules. In: Tosteson, D.C. (eds) Membrane Transport. People and Ideas. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7516-3_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7516-3_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

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