Fluid-Mosaic model

• The fluid-mosaic model describes the structure and arrangement of molecules within the cell-surface membrane.
• The cell-surface membrane can be described as 'fluid' because the individual phospholipid molecules can move relative to each other, giving the membrane a constantly changing and flexible shape.
• The cell-surface membrane can be described as mosaic because the proteins that are embedded in the phospholipid bilayer vary in size, shape and pattern (like the tiles of a mosaic).