Asymmetrical Distribution of the Potential Difference in the Toad Lens

Abstract

THE electrical p.d. across the plasma membrane of cells may be either uniformly distributed around its surface or, as in composite epithelial membranes such as the amphibian skin and urinary bladder, asymmetrically distributed. In the former type of cell, ion transport takes place from the inside to the outside of the cell. In the latter, ions move between the bathing solutions across the entire cell.