However, the viscosity of this liquid is very similar to that of water. In addition to being made up of water, there is a huge amount of dissolved substances in the intracellular fluid: ions, proteins and other molecules. The intracellular fluid, then, is contained in a fairly small space (the size of a cell) so it is, when considered for each individual cell, a very small volume, equivalent to 1 or 2 picoliters (1 picoliter is the millionth part of 1 microliter which, in turn, is one millionth of a liter). Intracellular fluid series#Let us remember that in the cytosol of a eukaryotic cell, in addition to the intracellular fluid and everything that is contained there, there are a series of membranous organelles that perform different cellular functions, so that the intracellular fluid is only represented by the "fluid" part. This structure, fundamental for the existence of a cell, is composed of a double layer of lipids and many associated proteins (peripheral and transmembrane). The plasma membrane is nothing more than a semi-permeable barrier that allows the passage of some substances and prevents the passage of others. Many textbooks refer to intracellular fluid as the cytosol, which is separated from the extracellular space (and the fluids contained in it) by the presence of the plasma membrane. Therefore, the intracellular fluid is the fluid in which most of the catalytic reactions that are necessary for life occur both from the metabolic point (for obtaining and using energy) and homeostatic (for the maintenance of internal conditions ), as well as for the replication, transcription and translation of cellular DNA. With this statement, we also understand that the interaction of water with the other cellular components is of utmost importance for cellular chemistry. In an adult human being, the sum of the intracellular fluid of all his cells exceeds 40% of his body weight.Īpproximately 70% of the fresh weight of a cell, be it animal or plant, is water, which is why we say that this is one of the most abundant elements of the intracellular fluid. However, the intracellular fluid (that which is contained in the intracellular space) is only one: that which is enclosed by the plasma membrane of any cell.
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