Blood-brain-barrier
a layer of tightly packed cells that make up the walls of brain capillaries and prevent substances in the blood from diffusing freely into the brain: passage across the cell membranes is determined by solubility in the lipid bilayer or recognition by a transport molecule.
Contemporary Examples
Scientists Find Bacteria Where It Isn’t Supposed to Be: The Brain Amanda Schaffer March 16, 2013
blood-brain barrier
A physiological mechanism that alters the permeability of capillaries in the brain, so that some substances, such as certain drugs, are prevented from entering brain tissue, while other substances are allowed to enter freely.
Note: Oxygen, glucose, and white blood cells are molecules that are able to pass through this barrier. Red blood cells cannot.
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