What is a Cell Membrane?
In simple terms, the cell membrane can be thought of as the skin or protective barrier of cell. It keeps all the internal components — or cytoplasm — of a cell inside of it, and the external items outside of it. Its main purpose is to maintain the integrity of the cell and determine what can enter and exit the cell. The cell membrane is comprised of a lipid bilayer. The lipid molecules are formed in two rows, each row is a mirror image of the other row. Two parts make up the structure of the lipid molecules – a hydrophobic and a hydrophilic section. The hydrophobic section avoids water and water-like molecules and faces inwards making up the center of the lipid bilayer, while the hydrophilic section attracts water or water-like molecules and faces outwards. Thus, the basis of the fluid mosaic model can be established. The fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane was discovered in 1972. It describes the arrangement of proteins within or on the lipid bilayer. The proteins are inserted int
