The Rx Bricks Podcast

Cell Membrane Potential and Ion Balance


Listen Later

Differences in ion concentrations inside and outside a cell cause a difference in the charge of the intracellular and extracellular environments. This electrical polarization of a cell relative to its environment is referred to as cellular membrane potential. This potential serves as an energy source for a variety of cellular functions and as a way for excitable cells like muscle cells and neurons to communicate their signals. A cell controls its membrane potential by regulating the concentration of multiple ions and other charged particles. Let’s take a closer look at the biochemistry behind the cell membrane potential.

After listening to this AudioBrick, you should be able to:

  • Define equilibrium and describe the forces at work on ions across a biological membrane.
  • Discuss the importance of the Nernst equation and equilibrium potentials.
  • Describe the importance of Na-K-ATPase in relation to the resting membrane potential (Vr).
  • Describe the nonequilibrium steady-state (NESS).
  • Define and discuss the chord conductance equation.
  • You can also check out the original brick from our Cellular Biology collection, which is available for free.

    Learn more about Rx Bricks by signing up for a free USMLE-Rx account: www.usmle-rx.com

    You will get 5 days of full access to our Rx360+ program, including nearly 800 Rx Bricks.  After the 5-day period, you will still be able to access over 150 free bricks, including the entire collections for General Microbiology and Cellular and Molecular Biology.

    ***

    If you enjoyed this episode, we’d love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts.  It helps with our visibility, and the more med students (or future med students) listen to the podcast, the more we can provide to the future physicians of the world.

    Follow USMLE-Rx at:

    Facebook: www.facebook.com/usmlerx
    Blog: www.firstaidteam.com
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/firstaidteam
    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firstaidteam/
    YouTube: www.youtube.com/USMLERX

    Learn how you can access over 150 of our bricks for FREE: https://usmlerx.wpengine.com/free-bricks/

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    The Rx Bricks PodcastBy USMLE-Rx

    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9

    4.9

    114 ratings


    More shows like The Rx Bricks Podcast

    View all
    NEJM This Week by NEJM Group

    NEJM This Week

    316 Listeners

    Emergency Medicine Cases by Dr. Anton Helman

    Emergency Medicine Cases

    535 Listeners

    Core EM - Emergency Medicine Podcast by Core EM

    Core EM - Emergency Medicine Podcast

    247 Listeners

    JAMA Clinical Reviews by JAMA Network

    JAMA Clinical Reviews

    480 Listeners

    AFP: American Family Physician Podcast by American Academy of Family Physicians

    AFP: American Family Physician Podcast

    683 Listeners

    The Curbsiders Internal Medicine Podcast by The Curbsiders Internal Medicine Podcast

    The Curbsiders Internal Medicine Podcast

    3,342 Listeners

    Core IM | Internal Medicine Podcast by Core IM Team

    Core IM | Internal Medicine Podcast

    1,093 Listeners

    Annals On Call Podcast by American College of Physicians

    Annals On Call Podcast

    179 Listeners

    The Clinical Problem Solvers by The Clinical Problem Solvers

    The Clinical Problem Solvers

    509 Listeners

    Harrison's PodClass: Internal Medicine Cases and Board Prep by AccessMedicine

    Harrison's PodClass: Internal Medicine Cases and Board Prep

    320 Listeners

    Run the List by Walker Redd, Emily Gutowski, Navin Kumar, Joyce Zhou, Blake Smith

    Run the List

    243 Listeners

    » Divine Intervention Podcasts by Divine-Favour Anene

    » Divine Intervention Podcasts

    962 Listeners

    Cardionerds: A Cardiology Podcast by CardioNerds

    Cardionerds: A Cardiology Podcast

    415 Listeners

    The Curious Clinicians by The Curious Clinicians

    The Curious Clinicians

    362 Listeners

    Ninja Nerd by Ninja Nerd

    Ninja Nerd

    288 Listeners