Crossword clues for membrane
membrane
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Membrane \Mem"brane\, n. [F., fr. L. membrana the skin that covers the separate members of the body, fr. L. membrum. See Member.] (Anat.) A thin layer or fold of tissue, usually supported by a fibrous network, serving to cover or line some part or organ, and often secreting or absorbing certain fluids.
Note: The term is also often applied to the thin, expanded parts, of various texture, both in animals and vegetables.
Adventitious membrane, a membrane connecting parts not usually connected, or of a different texture from the ordinary connection; as, the membrane of a cicatrix.
Jacob's membrane. See under Retina.
Mucous membranes (Anat.), the membranes lining passages and cavities which communicate with the exterior, as well as ducts and receptacles of secretion, and habitually secreting mucus.
Schneiderian membrane. (Anat.) See Schneiderian.
Serous membranes (Anat.), the membranes, like the peritoneum and pleura, which line, or lie in, cavities having no obvious outlet, and secrete a serous fluid.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
early 15c., "thin layer of skin or tissue," a term in anatomy, from Latin membrana "a skin, membrane; parchment (skin prepared for writing)," from membrum "limb, member of the body" (see member). The etymological sense is "that which covers the members of the body."
Wiktionary
n. 1 A flexible enclosing or separating tissue forming a plane or film and separating two environments (usually in a plant or animal). 2 A mechanical, thin, flat flexible part that can deform or vibrate when excited by an external force. 3 A flexible or semi-flexible covering or waterproofing whose primary function is to exclude water.
WordNet
n. a thin pliable sheet of material
a pliable sheet of tissue that covers or lines or connects organs or cells of animals [syn: tissue layer]
Wikipedia
Membrane most commonly means a thin, selective barrier, but it is sometimes used for films that function as separators, like biological membranes. Membrane may also refer to:
Biology:
- Biological membrane, including:
- Amnion, a membrane in the amniotic sac
- Basement membrane, a thin sheet of fibers that underlies the epithelium
- Cell membrane, a membrane that separates the interior of all cells from the outside environment
- Chorioallantoic membrane, a vascular membrane found in eggs of birds, reptiles and other animals
- Fetal membrane, the amnion and chorion which surround and protect a developing fetus
- Inner membrane, the biological membrane of an organelle or Gram-negative bacteria that is within an outer membrane
- Mucous membrane, linings of mostly endodermal origin which are involved in absorption and secretion
- Outer membrane (disambiguation), several meanings
- Serous membrane, a smooth membrane consisting of a thin layer of cells, which secrete serous fluid
- Eardrum, more formally known as tympanic membrane
Other uses:
-
Acoustic membrane, a thin vibrating layer that produces sound
- Membranophone, a musical instrument that uses this principle, including most drums
- Membrane keyboard, a computer keyboard whose keys are pressure pads that have only outlines and symbols printed on a flat, flexible surface
- Membrane structure, a sort of spatial structure made of tensioned membranes
- Membrane (M-Theory), a spatially extended mathematical concept that appears in string theory and related theories
- Synthetic membrane, a synthetically created membrane which is usually intended for separation purposes in laboratory or in industry
- The Membranes, a punk band
A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Biological membranes include cell membranes (outer coverings of cells or organelles that allow passage of certain constituents); nuclear membranes, which cover a cell nucleus; and tissue membranes, such as mucosae and serosae. Synthetic membranes are made by humans for use in laboratories and industry (such as chemical plants). The influent of an artificial membrane is known as the feed-stream, the liquid that passes through the membrane is known as the permeate, and the liquid containing the retained constituents is the retentate or concentrate.
These concept of a membrane has been known since the eighteenth century, but was used little outside of the laboratory until the end of World War II. Drinking water supplies in Europe had been compromised by the war and membrane filters were used to test for water safety. However, due to the lack of reliability, slow operation, reduced selectivity and elevated costs, membranes were not widely exploited. The first use of membranes on a large scale was with micro-filtration and ultra-filtration technologies. Since the 1980s, these separation processes, along with electrodialysis, are employed in large plants and, today, a number of experienced companies serve the market.
The degree of selectivity of a membrane depends on the membrane pore size. Depending on the pore size, they can be classified as microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. Membranes can also be of various thickness, with homogeneous or heterogeneous structure. Membranes can be neutral or charged, and particle transport can be active or passive. The latter can be facilitated by pressure, concentration, chemical or electrical gradients of the membrane process. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes.
Usage examples of "membrane".
One treatment that was administered for nasal catarrh, from which I continued to be affected, caused erosion of the mucous membrane, and destruction of the bony septum which separates the two nostrils.
The tidal regularity of cerebral chemical flows, the cyclonic violence latent in the adrenergic current of the autonomic nervous system, the delicate mysteries of the sweep of oxygen atoms from pneumonic membrane into the bloodstream.
The respiratory center is also connected by afferent nerves with the mucous membrane of the air passages.
Catarrh of any membrane, when the discharge is rich in albumin, transparent, like white of egg before it is cooked.
Thus, it seems that while in the mouth only starchy, and while in the stomach only albuminous substances are digested, in the small intestine all kinds of food materials, starchy, albuminoid, fatty and mineral, are either completely dissolved, or minutely subdivided, and so prepared that they may be readily absorbed through the animal membranes into the vessels.
The Rillyti held their position, amphibian faces twisted in a fierce mask, yellow eyes clouded by a flashing nictitating membrane.
The space between the internal and the external layers of the arachnoid membrane of the brain is much smaller than that enclosed by the corresponding layers of the arachnoid membrane of the spinal column.
When he slid his thumb back and forth across the smooth leather, he felt not what was there but what might soon be available for his caress: delicately shaped ridges of cartilage forming the auricula and pinna, the graceful curves of the channels that focused sound waves inward toward the tympanic membrane.
In particular, those vesicles that have developed the ability to synthesize simple proteins that stabilize their delicate lipid bilayer membranes will be more likely to survive than those that have not.
The policeman stationed at the door of the apartment had passed her a spray gun loaded with a polymer which, on discharge, would form itself into a bimolecular membrane and ding to anything it touched.
The policeman stationed at the door of the apartment had passed her a spray gun loaded with a polymer which, on discharge, would form itself into a bimolecular membrane and cling to anything it touched.
His sensory system extended from the outer membrane of philosopher cells to the bioactive walls of this chamber, where glands synthesized the charismata of his moods.
Syndrome, the breakout contractions were premature, the tentacle sheaths not filled completely with fluid, so the pressure would rupture the membranes.
And to think it all started with a single material: the neuronal membrane of the cauda equina, the divergent sheaf of spinal ganglia with the longest nerve roots of all.
Wolfer has been successful in transplanting the mucous membranes of frogs, rabbits, and pigeons to a portion of mucous membrane previously occupied by cicatricial tissue, and was the first to show that on mucous surfaces, mucous membrane remains mucous membrane, but when transplanted to skin, it becomes skin.