Dictionary Definition
intracellular adj : located or occurring within a
cell or cells; "intracellular fluid" [ant: extracellular]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
Adjective
intracellular- Inside or within a cell.
- an intracellular process
Antonyms
Translations
- French: intracellulaire
Extensive Definition
In cell
biology, molecular
biology and related fields, the word intracellular means
"inside the cell".
It is used in contrast to extracellular (outside the
cell). The cell
membrane (and, in plants, the cell wall) is
the barrier between the two, and chemical composition of intra- and
extracellular milieu can be radically different. In most organisms,
for example, a Na+/K+ ATPase maintains a
high potassium level
inside cells while keeping sodium low, leading to chemical
excitability.
note: do not get confused between intracellular
and intercellular, the latter meaning "between cells".