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In principle, can the membrane potential of a cell ever be equal to the equilibrium potential...

In principle, can the membrane potential of a cell ever be equal to the equilibrium potential for an ion? If yes, under what circumstances; if no, why not? Explain your reasoning.

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Yes the membrane potential of a cell can be equal to the equilibrium potential

A movement of an ion through an open ion channel causes the membrane potential to move towards the equilibrium potential for that specific ion so the typical equilibrium potentials for K -90, Na +60 and for Cl -70.

Because more than one ion can move from membrane so in such case membrane potential moves towards the "average" of the equilibrium potentials for the specific ions that can cross the membrane. The more permeable the membrane is for an ion, the more the equilibrium potential of that ion will influence the membrane potential.

Consider a "resting" neuron. In our example, we have been using a resting membrane potential of -70 mV. Refer back to the table of equilibrium potentials. We know that the resting membrane is mainly permeable to K+, and thus the resting membrane potential should be close to the K+ equilibrium potential. However, the resting membrane potential is not exactly at the equilibrium potential for K+, but a bit higher at -70 mV. This is because the resting membrane is slightly permeable to Na+.

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