Medical Definition of Phospholipid bilayer
1.
A lamellar organisation of phospholipids that are packed as a bilayer with hydrophobic acyl tails inwardly directed and polar head groups on the outside surfaces.
It is this bilayer that forms the basis of membranes in cells, though in most cellular membranes a very substantial proportion of the area may be occupied by integral proteins. The triple layered appearance of membranes seen in electron microscopy is thought to arise because the osmium tetroxide binds to the polar regions leaving a central, unstained, hydrophobic region.
(31 Dec 1997)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Phospholipid Bilayer
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