In medicine, osmosis is the directed flow of particles through a selective or semi-permeable separating layer. Osmosis is often described as the spontaneous passage of water or another solvent through a semipermeable membrane that is permeable to the solvent but not to the substances dissolved in it. It is often overlooked that the net movement of water in the body (calculation below!) is influenced far more by osmotic forces, which depend on electrolyte distributions in the compartments, than by other variables, such as blood pressure and onctoic pressure!
Comments