Medical Physiology - Re-establishing sodium and potassium ion gradients following action potential completion: significance of energy metabolism

Medical Physiology - Re-establishing sodium and potassium ion gradients following action potential completion: significance of energy metabolism

By spreading each impulse along the nerve fiber, the concentration variations between the inner and out-side of the membrane are virtually eliminated. Before the ion concentration changes to the point where action potential conduction stops, nerve fibers can send between 100,000 and 50 million impulses. Still, with time it becomes essential to restore the differences in sodium and potassium membrane concentration. The Na+-K+ pump acts to do this.