Membrane potential

Common card · No. 270935

Membrane potential (also transmembrane potential or membrane voltage) is the difference in electric potential between the interior and the exterior of a biological cell. By convention, membrane potential is abbreviated Vm, and described mathematically via the difference in charge density on either side, Vm = Vinside - Voutside, with Vinside and Voutside referring to the environments inside and outside a cell with membrane potential Vm. Vm itself describes the energy required to move a very small positive charge at constant velocity across the cell membrane from the exterior to the interior. Note, though, that if the charge is allowed to change velocity, the change of kinetic energy and production of radiation must be taken into account. Typical values of membrane potential is normally given in units of millivolts and denoted as mV. In many animal cells, Vm is typically in the order of tens of millivolts. It commonly falls in the range of about −20 mV to −200 mV depending on the cell type...

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