Cell Membrane
Plasma membrane or Cell membrane is the thin membrane that surrounds every living Cell, delimiting the cell from the environment around it. It composed primarily of fatty-acid-based lipids and proteins. Membrane lipids are principally of two types, phospholipids and sterols.
In animals, the plasma membrane is the outer boundary of the cell, while in plants and prokaryotes it is usually covered by a cell wall. This membrane serves to separate and protect a cell from its surrounding environment and is made mostly from a double layer of phospholipids, which are amphiphilic. Hence, the layer is called a phospholipid bilayer, or sometimes a fluid mosaic membrane.
The membrane is semi-permeable, and selectively permeable, in that it can either let a substance (molecule or ion) pass through freely, pass through to a limited extent or not pass through at all. Cell surface membranes also contain receptor proteins that allow cells to detect external signaling molecules such as hormones.