Envelope
Envelope (Medicine)
Envelope (pronounced: /ˈɛnvəˌloʊp/) in the context of medicine, refers to the outer layer or covering of some entities, such as a virus or a cell. The term is derived from the French word 'enveloppe', meaning to wrap up.
Etymology
The term 'envelope' comes from the Old French 'envoluper' (12c., Modern French 'envelopper'), which means "to envelop". The specific sense of "wrapper, covering for a letter" is first recorded in English in the 15th century.
Definition
In medicine, an envelope is a structure that encloses or bounds, like the lipid bilayer that encloses the nucleus of a cell, or the outer covering of a virus. The envelope often plays a crucial role in protecting the entity and helping it to survive and function.
Related Terms
- Lipid Bilayer: The lipid bilayer is a universal component of all cell membranes. It serves as a semi-permeable barrier, allowing only certain molecules to diffuse across the membrane.
- Virus: A virus is a small infectious agent that can only replicate inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses can infect all types of life forms.
- Cell: The cell is the basic structural, functional, and biological unit of all known living organisms. Cells are the smallest units of life that can replicate independently.
- Nucleus: In cell biology, the nucleus is a membrane-bound organelle found in eukaryotic cells. It contains most of the cell's genetic material.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Envelope
- Wikipedia's article - Envelope
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