Intracellular

Not to be confused with intercellular, meaning "between cells".

In cell biology, molecular biology and related fields, the word intracellular means "inside the cell".[1]

It is used in contrast to extracellular (outside the cell). The cell membrane (and, in plants, the cell wall) is the barrier between the two, and chemical composition of intra- and extracellular milieu can be radically different. In most organisms, for example, a Na+/K+ ATPase maintains a high potassium level inside cells while keeping sodium low, leading to chemical excitability.[2][3] This terms also means existing within the cells.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Definition of Intracellular". http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=24383. 
  2. ^ Matsudaira, Paul T.; Lodish, Harvey F.; Arnold Berk; Kaiser, Chris; Monty Krieger; Matthew P Scott; Anthony Bretscher; Hidde Ploegh (2008). Molecular cell biology. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman. ISBN 0-7167-7601-4. 
  3. ^ Benito B, Garciadeblás B, Schreier P, Rodríguez-Navarro A (April 2004). "Novel p-type ATPases mediate high-affinity potassium or sodium uptake in fungi". Eukaryotic Cell 3 (2): 359–68. PMC 387655. PMID 15075266. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=387655. 

External links