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AnimalCell

AnimalCellDefinition AnimalCell Follow 2,209followers

PartsofAnimalCell
AnimalCellStructure
FunctionofAnimalCell
10
Allanimalcellsaremulticellular.Theyareeukaryoticcells.Animalcellsaresurrounded
by plasma membrane and it contains the nucleus and organelles that are membrane
bound.

Animalcellsareofvarioussizesandhaveirregularshapes.Mostofthecellssizerange
RelatedConcepts between1and100micrometersandarevisibleonlywithhelpofmicroscope.Trillionsof
cells are found in the human body. There are many different types of cells,
AbouttheAnimalCell
approximately210distinctcelltypesinadulthumanbody.

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AnimalCellDefinition BacktoTop

Animalcellsareeukarytoic.Animalcellsarehaveouterboundaryknownastheplasma
membrane. The nucleus and the organelles of the cell are bound by a membrane. The
genetic material (DNA) in animal cells is within the nucleus that is bound by a
double membrane. The cell organelles have a vast range of functions to perform
likehormoneandenzymeproductiontoprovidingenergyforthecells.

Thecomponentsofanimalcellsarecentrioles,ciliaandflagella,endoplasmicreticulum,
golgi apparatus, lysosomes, microfilaments, microtubules, mitochondria, nucleus,
peroxisomes,plasmamembraneandribosomes.

PartsofAnimalCell BacktoTop

Animalcellcontainsmembraneboundnucleus,italsocontainsothermembranebound
cellular organelles. These cellular organelles carry out specific functions that are
necessary for the normal functioning of the cell. Animal cells lack cell wall, a large
vacuoleandplastids.Duetothelackofthecellwall,theshapeandsizeoftheanimal
cellsaremostlyirregular.Theconstituentsofanimalcellsarestructureslikecentrioles,
ciliaandflagellaandlysosomes.

Partsoftheanimalcellareasfollows:

Cellmembraneformstheoutercoveringofthecell,andissemipermeable.

Cytoplasmisagellikematrixwherealltheothercellorganellesaresuspended
insidethecell.

NucleuscontainsthehereditarymaterialDNAanddirectstheactivitiesofthe
cell.

Centriolesorganizethemicrotubulesassemblyduringcelldivision.

EndoplasmicReticulumareanetworkofmembranescomposedofroughand
smoothendoplasmicreticulum.

Golgicomplexisresponsibleforstoring,packagingofcellularproducts.

Lysosomesareenzymesacs,thatdigestcellularwastes.

Microtubulesarehollowrods,functionprimarilyassupportandshapetothecell.

Mitochondriaisthesiteforcellularrespirationandproducersofenergy.

RibosomesaremadeofRNAandproteins,andaresitesforproteinsynthesis.

Nucleolusisthestructurewithinthenucleusandhelpsinsynthesisof
ribosomes.

Nucleoporeisthetinyholeinthenuclearmembrane,allowsthemovementof
nucleicacidsandproteinsin/outofthecell.

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AnimalCellStructure BacktoTop

Animalcellsareeukaryoticcells,thenucleusandotherorganellesofthecellarebound
bymembrane.

Cellmembrane

Itisasemipermeablebarrier,allowingonlyafewmoleculestomoveacrossit.
Electronmicroscopicstudiesofcellmembraneshowsthelipidbilayermodelof
theplasmamembrane,italsoknownasthefluidmosaicmodel.
The cell membrane is made up of phospholipids which has polar(hydrophillic)
headsandnonpolar(hydrophobic)tails.

Cytoplasm

Thefluidmatrixthatfillsthecellisthecytoplasm.
Thecellularorganellesaresuspendedinthismatrixofthecytoplasm.
Thismatrixmaintainsthepressureofthecell,ensuresthecelldoesn'tshrinkor
burst.

Nucleus

NucleusisthehouseformostofthecellsgeneticmaterialtheDNAandRNA.
The nucleus is surrounded by a porous membrane known as the nuclear
membrane.
TheRNAmovesin/outofthenucleusthroughthesepores.
Proteinsneededbythenucleusenterthroughthenuclearpores.
TheRNAhelpsinproteinsynthesisthroughtranscriptionprocess.
Thenucleuscontrolstheactivityofthecellandisknownasthecontrolcenter.
Thenucleolusisthedarkspotinthenucleus,anditisthelocationforribosome
formation.

Ribosomes

Ribosomes is the site for protein synthesis where the translation of the RNA
takesplace.
As protein synthesis is very important to the cell, ribosomes are found in large
numberinallcells.

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Ribosomesarefoundfreelysuspendedinthecytoplasmandalsoareattachedto
theendoplasmicreticulum.

Endoplasmicreticulum

ER is the transport system of the cell. It transports molecules that need certain
changesandalsomoleculestotheirdestination.
ERisoftwotypes,roughandsmooth.
ER bound to the ribosomes appear rough and is the rough endoplasmic
reticulumwhilethesmoothERdonothavetheribosomes.

Lysosomes

Itisthedigestivesystemofthecell.
Theyhavedigestiveenzymeshelpsinbreakdownthewastemoelculesandalso
helpindetoxificationofthecell.
If the lysosomes were not membrane bound the cell could not have used the
destructiveenzymes.

Centrosomes

It is located near the nucleus of the cell and is known as the 'microtubule
organizingcenter'ofthecell.
Microtubulesaremadeinthecentrosome.
During mitosis the centrosome aids in dividing of the cell and moving of the
chromosometotheoppositesidesofthecell.

Vacuoles

Theyareboundbysinglemembraneandsmallorganelles.
Inmanyorganismsvacuolesarestorageorganelles.

Vesiclesaresmallervacuoleswhichfunctionfortransportin/outofthecell.

Golgibodies

Golgibodiesarethepackagingcenterofthecell.
TheGolgibodiesmodifythemoleculesfromtheroughERbydividingtheminto
smallerunitswithmembraneknownasvesicles.
Theyareflattenedstacksofmembraneboundsacs.

Mitochondria

Mitochondriaisthemainenergysourceofthecell.
They are called the power house of the cell because energy(ATP) is created
here.
Mitochondriaconsistsofinnerandoutermembrane.
Itissphericalorrodshapedorganelle.
Itisanorganellewhichisindependentasithasitsownhereditarymaterial.

Peroxisomes

Peroxisomes are single membrane bound organelle that contain oxidative

enzymesthataredigestiveinfunction.
They help in digesting long chains of fatty acids and amino acids and help in
synthesisofcholesterol.

Cytoskeleton

Itisthenetworkofmicrotubulesandmicrofilamentfibres.
Theygivestructuralsupportandmaintaintheshapeofthecell.

CiliaandFlagella

Ciliaandflagellaarestructurallyidenticalstructures.
Theyaredifferentbasedonthefunctiontheyperformandtheirlength.
Cilia are short and are in large number per cell while flagella are longer and are
fewerinnumber.
Theyareorganellesofmovement.
Theflagellarmotionisundulatingandwavelikewhereastheciliarymovementis
powerstrokeandrecoverystroke.

FunctionofAnimalCell
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FunctionofAnimalCell BacktoTop

All living organisms are made up of cells. Cells are differentiated into plant cells and
animal cells. Structurally there are a few differences in plant and animal cells though
theirfunctionalityisalmostthesame.

All the cells are enclosed in a protective membrane called the cell membrane however
plantcellshaveanextraadditionthecellwall.Thecellshavecertainorganellesthatare
membrane bound within them, these structures are called cellular organelles. These
organellesarespecifiedtoperformcertainactivitiesthatareimportantforthesurvivalof
the cell. All the cells function together in coordination with each other and help the
organism to survive. The functions of animal cell is carried out by the different cell
organelles.Theorganellesofthecellfunctionasaunitandregulatetheactivitiesofthe
cell.Thedifferentcellorganellesandtheirfunctionsareasfollows:

CellNucleusCellnucleusisreferredtoasthecontrolcenterofthecell.Thegenetic
materialoftheorganismispresentinthecell.ThereplicationofDNA,andsynthesisof
RNAoccursinthenucleusofthecell.Italsoregulatestheactivitiesoftheothercellular
organelles.

MitochondriaThemitochondriaisreferredtoasthepowerhouseofthecell.Itsmain
function if to produce energy for cell by the process of cellular respiration. The energy
producedisATP.

Endoplasmic Reticulum It is a network for transportation of certain substances in

andoutofthenucleus.

Golgi Apparatus It is involved with processing and packaging of the molecules that
are synthesized by the cells. The crude proteins that are passed on by the ER to the
apparatus are developed by the golgi apparatus into primary, secondary, and tertiary
proteins.

RibosomesThefunctionofribosomesisproteinsynthesis.

LysosomesTheyarereferredtoasthesuicidebagsofthecell.Theyhavedigestive
enzymesandareinvolvedinclearingtheinwantedwastematerialsfromthecell.They
alsoengulfdamagedmaterialslikethedamagedcells,andinvadingmicroorganismsand
digestfoodparticles.

VacuoleTheyarelargestorageorganelles.Theystoreexcessfoodorwater.

FunctionsofTheAnimalCell

Theanimalcellsperformvarietyofactivitiesbytheaidofthecellularorganelles.These
cells function as a unit and the cells together form tissues. A group go tissues with
similar function form an organ and a group of organ of specific function to perform
becomes and organ system. Thus, the microscopic cells form the basic unit for the
activitiesandcoordinationandhelpsurvivaloftheorganism.
PlantCell Organelles

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