Chapter 13: The Plasma Membrane

Animations

The following animations are available for this chapter:

13.1 A Chemical Synapse The arrival of a nerve impulse at the terminus of a neuron triggers synaptic vesicles to fuse with the plasma membrane, thereby releasing neurotransmitter.
13.2 The Sodium-Potassium Pump The sodium and potassium ion gradients across the plasma membrane are maintained by the Na+-K+ pump, which hydrolyzes ATP to fuel the transport of these ions against their electrochemical gradients.
13.3 Endocytosis In endocytosis, the plasma membrane pinches off small vesicles (pinocytosis) or large vesicles (phagocytosis) to take in extracellular materials.
13.4 Clathrin-Coated Pits and Vesicles Receptor molecules in the plasma membrane become bound to specific macromolecules from outside the cell, coalesce into clathrin-coated pits, and then pinch off in the form of clathrin-coated vesicles.

These animations are in Adobe Flash format. These require the Flash player (version 9 or newer recommended), which can be downloaded free of charge from the Adobe website:
http://www.adobe.com/software/flashplayer/