Structure & Functions of a

Mammalian Cell

PY1.1
Describe the structure and functions
of a mammalian cell
Cell membrane
 Cell/plasma membrane

 A vital & dynamic

structure which is
responsible for guarding
the uniqueness of the cell
from outside

 first point of contact with

any agent that is capable
of influencing the cell
 Functions of Cell Membrane
 Protective function: protects
cytoplasm & its organelles
 Maintenance of shape & size of
cell
 Selective permeability: allows
only some substances to pass
through it & acts as a barrier for
other substances.
 Membranes also possess transport
proteins that regulate movement
of substances into and out of the
cell
 Absorptive function: Nutrients
are absorbed into cell
 Excretory function:
Metabolites & other waste
products from cell are
excreted
 Functions of Cell Membrane
 Exchange of gases: O2 enters
cell from blood and CO2 leaves
cell & enters the blood

 Membranes contain protein

molecules that act as
receptors to detect
extracellular signals

 Finally, they provide

mechanisms for
 Cell-to-cell contact
 Adhesion &
 Communication
Development of concepts in membrane structure (different
models)
 Danielli-Davson model (1935)
 biological membranes consist of
lipid bilayers that are coated on
both sides with thin sheets of
protein
 The Unit membrane-Robertson,
1953
 cellular membranes share a common
underlying structure, which he
called the unit membrane
 the phospholipid bilayer in which
polar groups face outward to shield
the hydrophobic fatty acids tails
from water
 The Fluid mosaic model-Singer &
Nicholson, 1972
 Fluid Mosaic Model
 S.J. Singer & G. Nicolson (in 1972)
proposed that membrane proteins
are inserted into phospholipid
bilayer
 Fluid-like composition
 Composed of:
 Lipids in a bi-layer
 Proteins embedded in lipid layer
(called trans-membrane proteins)
 Proteins floating within the lipid
sea (called integral proteins)
 Proteins associated outside the
lipid bi-layer (peripheral proteins)
 Fluid mosaic model (special features)
 Consists of double-layer
of Phospholipid (PL) that
contains proteins

 Named so as memb. lipids

are in fluid form, allowing
flexibility of membrane

 membrane proteins are

loosely attached & float in
this PL layer

 fluidity of the memb is

mainly dependent on the
Structure of the cell membrane
 Structure of Cell membrane
 A thin elastic structure of
only 7.5 to 10 nm

 Consists entirely of lipid

bilayer with large no. of
proteins many penetrating all
the way through the
membrane

 Composed of
 Proteins -55%
 Phospholipids -25%
 Cholesterol -13%
 other lipids -4%
 Carbohydrates -3%
 Cell Membrane

Membrane lipid
• Major lipids : phospholipids or phosphoglycerides
• Others : cholesterol, glycolipid
 Cell Membrane
Phospholipids
 Make up 75% of cell surface
membrane
 Phospholipids are amphipathic
 phosphate portion forms polar
hydrophilic end,
 tail end, made up of two fatty acid
chains form non polar, hydrophobic
end
 In cell memb.,phospholipid molecules
are arranged in two layers.
 Hydrophilic ends remain in contact
with outer & inner (cytoplasmic)
surfaces of the cell memb.
 while hydrophobic fatty acid chains
are directed towards interior of cell
 Cell Membrane
Membrane Carbohydrates: cell
“glycocalyx”
 Carbohydrates, or sugars,
attached to proteins or lipid as
part of membrane glycoproteins
or glycolipids on extracellular
side of a cell membrane
 Are responsible for negative
charge of cell surface
 act as receptor for hormones,
NT
 Glycocalyx of some cell
attaches to Glycocalyx of other
cells, thus attaching cells to one
another
 Cell Membrane
Membrane Proteins:
 based on how they are associated with the lipid bilayer
Membrane proteins are classified as :integral & peripheral
 Integral membrane proteins
• have one or more short segments of predominantly
hydrophobic aa that anchor protein to membrane.
• Most of these transmembrane segments are a-helical
sequences of about 20–30 predominantly hydrophobic aa
 Cell Membrane
Membrane Proteins:
 Peripheral membrane proteins
 are hydrophilic & remain on membrane
surface.
 they are typically attached to polar head
groups of phospholipids by ionic and
hydrogen bonding.

 Intrinsic proteins:
• present on inner surface of membrane
• Serve as enzymes or anchor proteins for
cytoskeleton & other microfilaments that
maintain cell shape

 Extrinsic proteins:
 present on outer surface of membrane
 Serve as cell adhesion molecules for
anchoring cells with basal lamina & with
neighboring cells
Cell Membrane
Functions of membrane proteins:
 Ion channels: when activated,
permit the passage of ions into or
out of the cell.
 Carriers: transporting substances
down electrochemical gradients by
facilitated diffusion
 Pumps: actively transporting ions
across the membrane
 Cell adhesion molecules: these
protein molecules connect
adjacent cells or cells with basal
lamina
 Receptors: that bind ligands or
messenger molecules, initiating
physiological changes inside the
cell
 Enzymes: catalysing reactions at
surfaces of membrane.
 Cell Membrane
 The protein structure, part. enzyme content of
biologic membranes varies not only from cell to cell,
but also within the same cell.
 E.g, In epithelial cells, enzymes in cell membrane on
mucosal surface differ from those in cell membrane
on basal and lateral margins of cells; i.e,cells are
polarized. (eg in renal tubules)
 Such polarization makes directional transport across
epithelia possible
Transport Across the Cell
Membrane

PY1.5 Describe and discuss

transport mechanisms across
cell membranes
 Transport
Mechanism

Across membrane Along with membrane

Passive Active Vesicular

Osmosis Filtration

Endocytosis Exocytosis
Diffusion Primary

Pinocytosis
Simple
Constitutive
Phagocytosis
Secondary

Facilitated
Receptor Regulated
mediated
 Transport of substance across
membrane
 Passive transport
 Active transport
 Vesicular transport
 Passive transport

 Refers to transport of substances along the gradient

without expenditure of energy (down-hill movement)
 Depends upon physical factors like concentration gradient,
electrical gradient & pressure gradient
 Passive transport mechanisms at cell membrane level :
diffusion & osmosis
 Diffusion:
• transport from areas of higher concentration to areas of
lower concentration
• Simple & Facilitated
 Osmosis: diffusion of water/ other solvent molecules
through a semipermeable membrane(i.e membrane
permeable to solvent but not to solute) from a solution
containing lower concentration of solutes towards solution
 Passive Transport: DIFFUSION
Simple diffusion
 movement of molecules or ions
occurs through a membrane opening/
intermolecular spaces without
interaction with carrier proteins in
membrane.
 Diffusion of Lipid-Soluble
Substances through Lipid Bilayer.
 Diffusion of Water & Other Lipid-
insoluble molecules through Protein
Channels
 DIFFUSION
Simple diffusion
Protein channels:
 Selective permeability: highly
selective i.e each channel
permit only one type of ion to
pass through it. Eg. Sodium
channel, potassium channel
 Gating mechanism: some are
open while some are gated
 Voltage gated ion channel
 Ligand gated channels
 Mechanical -gated channels
 DIFFUSION
Protein channels:
 Voltage- gated channels: gates
controlled by changes in
membrane potential
 Voltage sensor lie in “down”
position below closed channel
 Membrane depolarization
changes the configuration of
channel protein & causes opening
up of channel
 eg. When depolarization occurs,
activation gate of Na+ channel is
opened allowing Na+ influx
 DIFFUSION
Protein channels:
Ligand- gated channels:
 conformational state depends
on binding of a specific
molecule , which is usually not
solute that passes through the
channel
 For eg,
 NT, such as acetylcholine, act
on outer surface of certain
cation channels
 Cyclic nucleotides, such as
cAMP, act on inner surface of
certain Ca ion channels
 DIFFUSION

Protein channels
Mechanical gated channels
 Some channels are
mechanosensitive & are
opened by mechanical stretch
 For eg,
 ion channels in hair cells in
cochlea & vestibular
apparatus
 stretch sensitive channels in
ventricular muscles etc.
 Stretch imparted on the
membrane opens the channels
 DIFFUSION

Facilitated diffusion/ carrier Postulated mechanism for

mediated diffusion facilitated diffusion
 substances with larger
molecular size cannot pass
through membranes by
simple diffusion
 They require carrier
proteins for transport.
 Eg. Glucose & amino acids
 DIFFUSION
Facilitated diffusion
Types of carrier protein:
 Uniport: carrier proteins
transport only one type of
molecules
 Symport: transport of one
substance is linked with
transfer of another substance
 Eg. Facilitated diffusion of
glucose in renal tubular cells is
linked with transport of
sodium
 Antiport: carrier proteins Various types of carrier
exchange one substance for protein systems:
another A, uniport; B, symport ,
 Eg. Na+–K+ exchange or Na+–H+ C, antiport.
 DIFFUSION
Simple diffusion Facilitated Diffusion
 rate of solute entry es  rate of transport is much
linearly with extracellular faster & es linearly as
concentration of solute. extracellular solute
 Assuming no change in concentration
intracellular concentration,  Increase in rate of diffusion is
increasing the extracellular limited by saturation of carrier
concentration increases the proteins
gradient that drives solute  A maximum rate of transport
entry. (Vmax) is achieved that cannot
be exceeded.
 Effect of concentration of a substance on rate of
diffusion through a membrane by simple diffusion &
facilitated diffusion
Simple diffusion Facilitated Diffusion
 Factors affecting net rate of diffusion

Permeability of cell membrane (P) which in turn depends upon:

 Thickness of the membrane.

 Rate of diffusion is inversely proportional to thickness of cell
membrane.
 Lipid solubility.
 Rate of diffusion directly proportional to lipid solubility of
substance.
 Temperature.
 Rate of diffusion directly proportional temperature.
 Size of molecules.
 Rate of diffusion is inversely proportional to size of molecules.
 Area of membrane.
 Net diffusion is directly proportional to total area of membrane.
 Viscosity of medium
 higher the viscosity, slower the movement
 Factors affecting net rate of diffusion

Fick’s law of Diffusion: Stokes-Einstein

Equation
J= -DA △C
△X D= -kT
J- rate of diffusion per 6πrη
unit time
D- diffusion co-efficient D- diffusion co-efficient
A- area across which k- Boltzmann’s constant
diffusion is occurring
T- temperature in degree
△C- concentration
gradient
kelvin
△X- distance along which
diffusion is occurring r- radius of molecule
 Factors affecting net rate of diffusion
 Concentration gradient: simple Effect of concentration difference (A),
diffusion is directly proportional to electrical potential difference affecting
concentration gradient, but negative ions (B), and pressure
facilitated diffusion has Vmax difference (C) to cause diffusion of
 Electrical potential gradient. molecules and ions through a cell
membrane
 For charged/ions, driving force for
net diffusion must consider both
concentration difference &
electrical potential difference
across cell membrane
 The sum of these two driving
forces is the gradient (or
difference) of electrochemical
potential across the membrane for
a specific solute
 Pressure gradient: It has been
observed that increased amount of
energy is available to cause net
movements of molecules from the
high pressure side towards low
 Effect of concentration difference (A), electrical potential
difference affecting negative ions (B), and pressure difference (C)
to cause diffusion of molecules and ions through a cell membrane.
Co, concentration outside the cell; Ci , concentration inside the cell;
P1 pressure 1; P2 pressure 2 .
 Osmosis
 Osmosis is the passive flow of the solvent (e.g. water)
across a semi permeable membrane into a region
where there is a higher concentration of solute
 Osmosis
 movement of solvent can be prevented by applying pressure
to solution & pressure necessary to prevent solvent
migration : osmotic pressure (OP) of that solution
 The OP exerted by particles in a solution, whether they are
molecules or ions,
 is determined by number of particles per unit volume of
fluid, & not by mass of particles.
(whatever may be the nature of the solute, 1 molar solution
of a non-ionisable substance will have the same osmotic
pressure)
 Osmosis
 movement of solvent can be
prevented by applying
pressure to solution &
pressure necessary to prevent
solvent migration : osmotic
pressure (OP) of that solution
 The OP of a solution,is
determined by number of
particles per unit volume of
fluid, & not by mass of
particles.
(whatever may be nature of
# Colloidal osmotic pressure d/t solute, 1 molar solution of a
plasma colloids is called oncotic
pressure non-ionisable substance will
have same osmotic pressure)
 Osmosis
 To express concentration of a solution in terms of numbers of
particles, unit called osmole is used in place of grams.
 1 osmole of a substance contains 1 mole of a non-ionisable substance
i.e 6.023x1023 molecules

 One osmole (Osm) = gram-molecular weight of a substance/

number of freely moving particles that each
molecule liberates in solution.

 One molar solution of non-ionisable substance (glucose) [180 grams

of glucose, which is 1 gram molecular weight of glucose] contains 1
osmole/L
 One molar solution of NaCl contains 2 osmoles/L as it dissociates
into
Na+ & Cl-
 As osmole is too big, milliosmole (mOsm; 1/1000 of 1 Osm) is more
commonly used.
 Osmosis

 Osmolality: of a solution refers to number of osmotically

active particles (osmoles) per kilogram of solution
 Osmolarity refers to number of osmoles/L of a solution
 The normal osmolality of the extracellular and
intracellular fluids is 290 mOsm/kg of water.

(more practical to measure osmolarity than osmolality,

measuring osmolarity is the usual practice in physiological
studies)
 Osmosis

 Applied importance: Osmotic pressure of plasma determines size of red

blood cells

 Tonicity:
 used to describe effective osmotic pressure of a solution relative to
plasma (290 mOsm/kg)
 Tonicity is tested across the RBC membrane
 Isotonic solution:
 have osmolality similar to plasma
 E.g. 0.9% NaCl,5% Glucose
 Hypotonic solution: osmolality lower than plasma

 Hypertonic solution: osmolality higher than plasma

Osmosis
 Osmosis
 most abundant substance that diffuses through cell
membrane is water.
 Enough water ordinarily diffuses in each direction
through the red blood cell membrane per second to
equal about 100 times the volume of the cell itself.
 Yet, amount that normally diffuses in the two
directions is balanced so precisely that zero net
movement of water occurs.
 Therefore, the volume of the cell remains constant.
 However, under certain conditions, a concentration
difference for water can develop across a membrane.
 When this concentration difference for water
develops, net movement of water does occur across
cell membrane, causing cell to swell or shrink,
depending on direction of water movement.
 Specialized transport across the capillary
wall ( Filtration)
 form of transport which
involves passing of water &
permeable solutes through a
membrane by force of
hydrostatic pressure(HP)
 movement of molecules
through a membrane from an
area of high HP to an area of
low HP— i.e. down a
hydrostatic pressure gradient
 HP is the force, or weight, of
a fluid pushing against a
Specialized transport across the capillary wall
(Filtration)
 filtration membrane does not allow larger particles
through
 results in separation of large & small particles
 HP of the blood (BP) generated by heart
contractions, gravity & other forces pushes water &
small solutes out of the capillaries & into the
interstitial spaces of a tissue
 occurs in capillaries, which are found throughout
body
 allows blood vessels to supply tissues with water &
other essential substances quickly & easily without
losing its cells & blood proteins
 the 1st step used by kidney to form urine
 Active transport
 Transport of substances against their conc. or electrical
gradient (electrochemical gradient)
 Requires energy directly or indirectly in form of ATP
 In combination with a carrier protein
 Type of Active Transport
 Depending on source of energy, two types of active
transport
 Primary Active Transport
• uses energy directly from breakdown of ATP
 Secondary Active Transport
• Energy is derived secondarily from energy that
has been stored in form of ionic concentration
differences across the cell membrane created
originally by primary active transport
 Primary Active transport Secondary Active transport
Eg. Na+-K+ Pump Eg. Na-Glucose transporter

ATP-driven Na+K+ pump stores membrane through a membrane

energy by creating a steep cotransporter protein, it drive glucose
conc gradient for Na+ against its conc. gradient into cell
entry into the cell
 Primary active transport

 Moving a solute uphill against its electrochemical

gradient
 Energy required for transport is liberated directly
from breakdown of ATP
 Hydrolysis of ATP by a transporter provides the
energy for primary active transport
 The transporter itself is an enzyme called ATPase that
catalyses the breakdown of ATP & in the process,
phosphorylates itself
 Phosphorylation of transporter protein changes
 conformation of transporter
 affinity of transporter’s solute binding site.
 Primary active transport

Na+- K+ ATPase Pump

 An integral membrane protein
found in all cells of eukaryotes
 consist of α & β subunit
 α subunit has binding sites for
 Na+ , ATP & phosphorylation
site on its intracellular
surface
 K+ & ouabain binding site on
its extracellular surface
 Na+ & K+ transport occurs
through the α subunit
 β subunit is a glycoprotein
 Primary active transport
Na+K+ ATPase Pump
 Electrogenic in nature
 Pumps 2 K+ inside cell for every 3 Na+ pumped
out(coupling ratio of 3:2)
 Primary active transport
Regulation of Na+ -K+ ATPase Pump
 Increase pump activity:
 Thyroid hormone (increase formation of
Na+ -K+ -ATPase molecules by a genomic action )
 Aldosterone (increases number of pumps)
 Insulin
 Inhibits the pump:
 Dopamine in kidney (by phosphorylating it, causing a
natriuresis)
 Ouabain
 digitalis glycosides
 Primary active transport
Importance of Na+ -K+ ATPase Pump
 Produces both chemical & Na+ are
extruded
electrical gradient across the
cell membrane
 Maintenance of Na+ and K+ Net loss of ions
out of the cell
concentration
 Establishment of a negative
voltage inside cells (RMP) Initiates osmosis of
water out of the cell
 Control cell volume

Preventing cell from

swelling and bursting
 Secondary active transport
 Active transporters use energy inherent in the
electrochemical gradient of one solute to drive uphill
movement of a second solute (secondary active
transport)
 Such carriers do not hydrolyze ATP directly
 although ATP may have been used to create the gradient
being used by the secondary transporter
 2 transport modes
– Countertransport &
– Cotransport
 Secondary active transport
Countertransport/ Exchangers/
Antiporters
 use electrochemical gradient of
one solute (e.g., Na) to drive
flow of a 2nd (e.g., Ca2+) in
opposite direction to the 1st
 Na-Ca2+ exchanger helps
maintain low intracellular [Ca 2+]
by using inwardly directed Na
gradient to pump Ca 2+ out of the
cell
 Other important exchangers
include a Na-H exchanger and a
Cl-HCO3 exchanger
 Secondary active transport
Cotransport/Symports
 use electrochemical
gradient of one solute to
drive flow of a 2nd or even
a 3rd solute in same
direction as first
 For example
cotransporter
 Na-Cl cotransporter
 Na-K-2Cl cotransporter
 Na-glucose
 Na–amino acid
cotransporter
 K-Cl cotransporter
 Vesicular transport
 transport process that occurs by either fusion of
vesicle or formation of vesicle is called as vesicular
transport.
 Fusion of vesicle with cell membrane occurs in
exocytosis and formation of vesicle from the cell
membrane occurs in endocytosis.
 Transport: Macromolecules such as large protein
molecules, Amino acids, sugars, waste products of
metabolism, cellular secretions, hormones,
neurotransmitters & organisms
 Vesicular Transport

Endocytosis Exocytosis Transcytosis

Pinocytosis Constitutive

Phagocytosis Non-
Constitutive

Receptor mediated
endocytosis
 Endocytosis: Pinocytosis
(cell drinking)

 fluid endocytosis: when it involves

only fluid
 endocytotic vesicle encloses a
small volume of ECF
 process is nonspecific as vesicle
simply engulfs water in ECF along
with whatever solutes are present
 Solutes may include
 ions
 nutrients
 or any other small extracellular
molecule
 most cells undergo pinocytosis
 Large macromolecules, other cells,
and cell debris do not normally
enter a cell via this process
 Endocytosis:Phagocyto
sis(cell eating)
 Cells engulf bacteria or large
particles such as cell debris from
damaged tissues
 Pseudopodia fold around the surface
of the particle, engulfing it entirely
 Pseudopodia, with their engulfed
contents, then fuse into large
vesicles called phagosomes that are
internalized into the cell
 Phagosomes migrate to & fuse with
lysosomes in cytoplasm & contents of
phagosomes are then destroyed by
lysosomal enzymes & other molecules
 only a few special types of cells,
Phagocytosis of pathogens, such as
such as those of immune system
bacteria, by phagocytic cell
carry out phagocytosis
(macrophage
Endocytosis: Receptor mediated endocytosis
 Endocytosis: Receptor-mediated endocytosis

 cell recognizes a specific

extracellular ligand that
binds to a plasma membrane
receptor

 binding triggers endocytosis

 ligand-receptor complexes
are internalized via clathrin-
coated vesicles, which merge
with endosomes
 Endocytosis: Receptor-mediated endocytosis

 Ligands may be routed to

the Golgi apparatus for
further processing, or to
lysosomes
 receptors are typically
recycled to the plasma
membrane.
 Clathrin-mediated
endocytosis is responsible
for the internalization of
many receptors and the
ligands bound to them Clathrin molecule
on surface of an
 for eg, nerve growth factor endocytotic vesicle
& low-density lipid plays a
major role in synaptic
 Exocytosis
 A similar process in reverse direction, exocytosis , occurs
when membrane-bound vesicles in cytoplasm fuse with
plasma membrane and release their contents to outside of
the cell
 The process of exocytosis requires Ca2+ and energy along with
docking proteins.
 Release of hormones and enzymes by secretory cells of body
occurs by exocytosis.
 Exocytosis
• Membranous vesicles
containing newly
synthesized proteins bud
off from the rough ER and
fuse with cistern on cis
side of Golgi apparatus.
• proteins are then passed
via other vesicles to
middle cisterns & finally to Nonconstitutive / regulated
cistern on trans side, from  proteins from Golgi apparatus initially
which vesicles branch off enter secretory granules, where
into cytoplasm. processing of prohormones to mature
hormones occurs before exocytosis
• From trans side of Golgi,  extracellular signal stimulate the
vesicles shuttle to secretion
lysosomes &to cell exterior Constitutive pathway:
via constitutive and  involves prompt transport of proteins to
nonconstitutive pathways, cell membrane in vesicles, with little or
both involving exocytosis no processing or storage.
 Transcytosis
 Vesicular transport
within the cell is called
transcytosis or
cytopemisis.
 It is quite similar to
exocytosis and
endocytosis.
 Three basic steps
involved in this process
are
(i) vesicle formation,
(ii) vesicle
transportation and
(iii) docking in the cell.
 Epithelial Transport
 Epithelial cells
 Line hollow organs & tubes
 Regulate absorption &
secretion of substances across
membranes
 They have two membrane,
opposing each other
o Luminal/Apical membrane
 Surface facing a hollow or fluid
filled chamber
o Basolateral membrane
 Adjacent to network of blood
vessels
 Opposite apical membrane
 e.g. GI tract, kidneys, glands
 Epithelial Transport
 Two pathways crossing the
epithelium
 Paracellular pathway
– Diffusion between adjacent cells
– Limited due to tight junction
membranes
 Transcellular pathway
– Movement across cell from
apical to basal membrane
 Different transporters &
permeability characteristics
between apical & basement
membranes underlies the
Transcellular Transport of Solutes
Exocytosis
 Endocytosis: Pinocytosis (cell drinking)
 ingestion of minute particles that form
vesicles of extracellular fluid and particulate
constituents inside cell cytoplasm.
 Pinocytosis occurs continually in cell
membranes of most cells, while only certain
cells have capability of phagocytosis (tissue
macrophages and some white blood cells).
 steps of pinocytosis:
 3 molecules of protein attach to specialized
protein receptors on surface of membrane
 The receptors generally are concentrated in
small pits on outer surface of cell membrane,
Mechanism of pinocytosis
called coated pits.
 On inside of cell membrane beneath these pits
is a latticework of fibrillar protein called
clathrin, as well as other proteins, perhaps
including contractile filaments of actin and
myosin.
Endocytosis: Pinocytosis (cell drinking)
 Once protein molecules bind
with receptors, surface
properties of local membrane
change in such a way that the
entire pit invaginates inward,
& fibrillar proteins
surrounding the invaginating
pit cause its borders to close
over the attached proteins,
as well as over a small amount
of extracellular fluid.
 after that, invaginated
portion of membrane breaks
away from surface of cell,
forming a pinocytotic vesicle
inside the cytoplasm of cell.
 Endocytosis: Phagocytosis (cell eating)
 ingestion of large particles,
such as bacteria, whole cells, or
portions of degenerating tissue.
 Fig: Antibodies coat the
bacteria, making them more
susceptible to phagocytosis by
macrophage that engulfs the
bacterium, bringing it into the
cell and forming a phagosome.
 Lysosomes then attach to
phagosome to form a
phagolysosome, which digests
the invading pathogen. Phagocytosis of pathogens,
 phagocytic cell then releases such as bacteria, by
the digested products by phagocytic cell (macrophage)
exocytosis.
 Osmosis
 In an ideal solution, osmotic pressure (P) is related to
temperature & volume in same way as pressure of a gas (van't
Hoff equation):

P= nRT/V
where
n is the number of particles
R is the gas constant
T is the absolute temperature
V is the volume
 Osmosis
Relation of Osmolality to Osmotic Pressure
 At normal body temperature, 37°C, a concentration of 1
osmole per liter will cause 19,300 mm Hg osmotic pressure in
the solution.
 Likewise, 1 milliosmole per liter concentration is equivalent to
19.3 mm Hg osmotic pressure.
 Multiplying this value by 300-milliosmolar concentration of
body fluids gives a total calculated osmotic pressure of body
fluids of 5790 mm Hg.
 The measured value for this, however, averages only about
5500 mm Hg
 reason for this difference is that many ions in body fluids,
such as sodium & chloride ions, are highly attracted to one
another; so they cannot move entirely unrestrained in fluids
and create their full osmotic pressure potential
 Osmosis
 Osmolarity is the osmolar concentration expressed as
osmoles per liter of solution rather than osmoles per
kilogram of water.
 Although, osmoles per kilogram of water (osmolality)
determines osmotic pressure, the quantitative
differences between osmolarity & osmolality are less
than 1% for dilute solutions such as those in the body.
 Because it is far more practical to measure
osmolarity than osmolality, measuring osmolarity is
the usual practice in physiological studies.