The Importance Of Cell Membranes
Membranes are essential to the proper functions of cells and are therefore important to living organisms. They are important because they have many tasks to complete to keep a cell working effectively. Membranes separate the living portion of the cell from the extra cellular material around and outside the cell, they are also the structure which allows of forbids certain materials from entering and exiting the cell and individual organelles. The membrane also keeps all of the organelles inside of the cell and all the parts of the organelles inside of the organelles.
Membranes are made of phospholipids and proteins, as well as some carbohydrates. More specifically the make up of a membrane is a phospholipid bilayer; consisting of hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions. The structure is determined by the properties of the polar lipids. The hydrophilic heads of the phospholipid are in contact with the extracellular and intracellular fluid (intracellular fluid being the solution between cells), whilst the water hating hydrophobic tails lie in the centre of the bilayer.
