What Does membrane Mean
From the Latin membrāna , a membrane is a thin parchment-like skin , a tissue that has a laminar shape and has a soft consistency or a thin, flexible plate or sheet .
In biology , a semipermeable membrane is one that allows certain molecules or ions to pass through it by diffusion. The concentration, pressure, and temperature of the molecules and solutes will determine how much matter can pass through the membrane. The permeability of the membrane will of course also depend on the size of the solute.
On the other hand, the laminar structure that covers cells and defines their limits is known as the plasma or cytoplasmic membrane . This sheet, made up of phospholipids, carbohydrates and proteins, among other components, acts as a container for the cell and provides protection.
Nor can we ignore the fact that there is what is known as a false membrane. In the field of Medicine it is where allusion is made to that which is characterized by being the membrane that is responsible for covering the tissues that are in contact with the outside and that, for various reasons, have been injured.
Likewise, in the aforementioned scientific and anatomical fields we come across the fact that there is a large number of membranes that are located in different parts of the human body and that, therefore, have very different and necessary missions. This would be the case, for example, of the pituitary membrane, which is a kind of mucosa located in the nostrils and which has a very important function: to house the receptors of the sense of smell.
The basement membrane is a natural collagen layer that is located at the base of the epithelia and that acts as a physiological filter.
The deciduous membrane is one that, during pregnancy, lines the internal cavity of the womb.
In addition to all the above, we have to make it clear that there are other scientific fields that also make use of the term that we are dealing with now. Thus, for example, in the field of Cosmology a theory is developed, the so-called string theory, which has the membrane as one of its central axes.
With this approach, what is basically expressed is that every extended object, called a string, has a series of material-type particles that are vibrational states of it. This leads to suggest that there are eleven different dimensions and that they are encompassed, giving rise to the formation of membranes.
In zoology, the nictitating membrane is the third eyelid of birds, which is lateral and transparent.
The mucous membrane lines the cavities of the body that are communicated with the outside. They have single-celled glands that secrete mucus.
Finally, it should be mentioned that an elastic membrane is an elastic body capable of resisting tensile stresses. From a geometric point of view, the elastic membrane has a curved middle surface and a small thickness on both sides.