= Fluid mosaic model
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The <fluid mosaic model> describes a <cell membrane> as a fluid <lipid bilayer> with embedded <membrane proteins>. It connects a continuous barrier to a mosaic of functional components: <diffusion> within the membrane can coexist with selective passage across it. S. J. Singer and G. L. Nicolson presented the <fluid mosaic model> in Science in 1972; see https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4333397/[Singer and Nicolson, The fluid mosaic model of the structure of cell membranes]. The useful picture does not require every <protein> to move freely: attachments and interactions can restrict movement, as discussed in https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9898/[Cooper, The Cell: structure of the plasma membrane].
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