Extracellular

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Extracellular

In cell biology

Cell biology

Cell biology is an list of academic disciplines that studies cell s ? their physiology properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their cell cycle, cell division and apoptosis....
, molecular biology

Molecular biology

Molecular biology is the study of biology at a molecule level. The field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry....
and related fields, the word extracellular (or sometimes extracellular space) means "outside the cell

Cell (biology)

The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known Life organisms. It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living, and is often called the building bricks of life....
". This space is usually taken to be outside the plasma membranes, and occupied by fluid. The term is used in contrast to intracellular

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 "....
(inside the cell).

The composition of the extracellular space includes metabolites, ion

Ion

An ion is an atom or molecule which has lost or gained one or more electrons, giving it a positive or negative electrical charge. According to the Bohr_model this will be from or in the outer shield 'n'....
s, protein

Protein

Proteins are organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid Residue ....
s, and many other substances that might affect cellular function.

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Encyclopedia

In cell biology

Cell biology

Molecular biology

Cell (biology)

Intracellular

Ion

Protein

Hormone

Hormones are chemicals released by cells that affect cells in other parts of the body. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism....
s act by travelling the extracellular space towards biochemical receptors on cells. Other proteins that are active outside the cell are the digestive enzymes.

The term 'extracellular' is often used in reference to the extracellular fluid

Extracellular fluid

Extracellular fluid usually denotes all body fluid outside of cells. The remainder is called intracellular fluid.In some animals, including mammals, the extracellular fluid can be divided into two major subcompartments, interstitial fluid and blood plasma....
(ECF) which composes about 15 litre

Litre

The litre or liter is a unit of volume. There are two official symbols: the Latin letter L in lower and upper case . The lower case L is often written as a cursive l to avoid confusion with the number 1 in antiqua fonts....
s of the average human body. The cell membrane

Cell membrane

The cell membrane is the interface between the cellular machinery inside the cell and the fluid outside.It is a semipermeable lipid bilayer found in all cell ....
(and, in plants and fungi, the cell wall

Cell wall

A cell wall is a tough, flexible and sometimes fairly rigid layer that surrounds some types of cell . It is located outside the cell membrane and provides these cells with structural support and protection, and also acts as a filtering mechanism....
) 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

Na+/K+-ATPase

Na+/K+-ATPase is an enzyme located in the plasma membrane . It is found in the human cell and is found in all metazoa ....
pump maintains a high concentration

Concentration

In chemistry, concentration is the measure of how much of a given chemical substance there is mixed with another substance. This can apply to any sort of chemical mixture, but most frequently the concept is limited to homogeneous solutions, where it refers to the amount of solute in the solvent....
of sodium

Sodium

Sodium is an element which has the symbol Na , atomic number 11, atomic mass 23 amu , and a common oxidation number +1. Sodium is a soft, silvery white, highly reactive element and is a member of the alkali metals within "group 1" ....
ion

Ion

Potassium

Potassium is a chemical element. It has the symbol K , atomic number 19, and atomic mass 39.0983. Potassium was first isolated from potash, hence the name....
low, leading to chemical excitability. Many cold-tolerant plants force water into the extracellular space when the temperature drops below 0 degrees Celsius, so that when it freezes, it does not lyse

Lysis

Lysis refers to the death of a cell by breaking of the cellular membrane, often by viral or osmotic mechanisms that compromise its integrity. A solution containing the contents of lysed cells is called a "lysate"....
the plants' cells.

Two compartments comprise the extracellular space: the vascular space and the interstitial space

Interstitial space (biology)

In biology, the interstitial space, also called the tissue space, is the space that surrounds the cell s of a given tissue. It is filled with interstitial fluid....
.