serous membrane

Examples of serous membrane in the following topics:

• Serous Membranes

  • Serous membranes line and enclose serous cavities, where they secrete a lubricating fluid which reduces friction from muscle movement.
  • In anatomy, a serous membrane (or serosa) is a smooth membrane consisting of a thin layer of cells, which secrete serous fluid, and a thin connective tissue layer.
  • The serous cavities are formed from the intraembryonic coelom and are basically an empty space within the body, surrounded by serous membrane.
  • Therefore, each organ becomes surrounded by serous membrane; they do not lie within the serous cavity.
  • Describe the function of the serous membranes in the pericardial, pleural, and peritoneal cavities

• Serosa

  • In anatomy, the serous membrane (or serosa) is a smooth membrane that consists of a thin connective tissue layer and a thin layer of cells that secrete serous fluid.
  • Serous membranes line and enclose several body cavities, known as serous cavities, where they secrete a lubricating fluid to reduce friction from muscle movements.
  • Each serous membrane is composed of a secretory epithelial layer and a connective tissue layer underneath.
  • The serous cavities are formed from the intraembryonic coelom and are basically an empty space within the body surrounded by a serous membrane.
  • Therefore each organ becomes surrounded by a serous membrane—they do not lie within the serous cavity.

• The Peritoneum

  • The peritoneum, the serous membrane that forms the lining of the abdominal cavity, covers most of the intra-abdominal organs.
  • The peritoneum is the serous membrane that forms the lining of the abdominal cavity or the coelom.
  • It is filled with a small amount of slippery serous fluid that allows the two layers to slide freely over each other.

• Pericardium

  • The pericardium is a thick, membranous, fluid-filled sac which encloses, protects, and nourishes the heart.
  • The pericardium is the thick, membranous, fluid-filled sac that surrounds the heart and the roots of the vessels that enter and leave this vital organ, functioning as a protective membrane .
  • The pericardium is composed of two layers, an outer fibrous pericardium and an inner serous pericardium.
  • The serous pericardium, the inner layer of the pericardium, is composed of two different layers.
  • The serous pericardium, with its two membranes and the fluid-filled pericardial cavity, provides protection to the heart and a lubricated sliding surface within which the heart can move in response to its own contractions and to the movement of adjacent structures such as the diaphragm and the lungs.

• Body Cavity Membranes

  • A number of membranes enclose the various organs of the human body.
  • The mesothelium is composed of an extensive monolayer of specialized cells (mesothelial cells) that line the body's serous cavities and internal organs.
  • The arachnoid mater is a thin, transparent membrane.
  • The pia mater is a very delicate membrane.
  • The peritoneum is the serous membrane that forms the lining of the abdominal cavity or the coelom—it covers most of the intra-abdominal (or coelomic) organs—in amniotes and some invertebrates (annelids, for instance).

• Peritonitis

  • The peritoneum, colored in blue, is the serous membrane that forms the lining of the abdominal cavity.

• Pneumothorax and Hemothorax

  • Its cause is usually traumatic, from a blunt or penetrating injury to the chest, resulting in a rupture of the serous membrane either lining the chest or covering the lungs.

• Histology of the Small Intestine

  • The serosa is a smooth membrane consisting of a thin layer of cells that secrete serous fluid, and a thin layer of connective tissue.
  • Serous fluid is a lubricating fluid that reduces friction from the movement of the muscularis.
  • The muscularis is a region of muscle adjacent to the submucosa membrane.
  • The mucosa is the innermost tissue layer of the small intestines, and is a mucous membrane that secretes digestive enzymes and hormones.

• Ovarian Cysts

  • A chocolate cyst is an endometrioma, endometrioid cyst, endometrial cyst, or chocolate cyst is caused by endometriosis, and formed when a tiny patch of endometrial tissue (the mucous membrane that makes up the inner layer of the uterine wall) bleeds, sloughs off, becomes transplanted, and grows and enlarges inside the ovaries.

• Membrane Potentials as Signals

  • Membrane potential (also transmembrane potential or membrane voltage) is the difference in electrical potential between the interior and the exterior of a biological cell.
  • The membrane serves as both an insulator and a diffusion barrier to the movement of ions.
  • Ion transporter/pump proteins actively push ions across the membrane to establish concentration gradients across the membrane, and ion channels allow ions to move across the membrane down those concentration gradients, a process known as facilitated diffusion.
  • The membrane potential has two basic functions.
  • Signals are generated by opening or closing of ion channels at one point in the membrane, producing a local change in the membrane potential that causes electric current to flow rapidly to other points in the membrane.