Cell Properties and Function Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering cellular structures, organelles, energy metabolism, and tissue organization based on Essentials of Public Health Biology.

Plasma Membrane

A lipid-based selective barrier containing proteins that separates intracellular fluid from extracellular fluid, maintains the internal cellular environment, and regulates transport into and out of the cell.

Nucleus

The largest single organized unit in many cells that stores DNA and directs the synthesis of proteins that determine cell specificity.

Cytoplasm

The interior region of the cell located outside the nucleus.

Cytosol

The gel-like material within the cytoplasm in which organelles are dispersed and where glycolysis takes place.

Cytoskeleton

A cellular structure that provides internal organization and regulates movement within the cell.

Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum

A portion of the endoplasmic reticulum that contains ribosomes and supports protein synthesis.

Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum

A portion of the endoplasmic reticulum that lacks ribosomes, participates in lipid metabolism and detoxification, and stores calcium in muscle cells.

Golgi Complex

A set of flattened, curved membrane-bound sacs that receives newly manufactured proteins from the ER, modifies them into their final form, and packages and distributes them to their destinations.

Lysosomes

Membrane-bound organelles containing hydrolytic enzymes that digest cellular waste, bacteria, and damaged cellular material.

Peroxisomes

Membrane-bound organelles containing oxidative enzymes that participate in detoxification and the breakdown of specific molecules.

Mitochondria

The cell's major energy-producing organelles that convert energy from ingested nutrients into usable cellular energy in the form of ATP.

Cristae

The internal folds of the inner mitochondrial membrane.

Mitochondrial Matrix

The innermost compartment of the mitochondrion containing enzymes needed for aerobic metabolism, as well as its own DNA and ribosomes.

ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)

The cell's energy currency, which stores energy in high-energy phosphate bonds and releases usable energy when a terminal phosphate bond is broken.

Anaerobic Metabolism

An energy production process occurring in the cytosol without oxygen ($O_2$), breaking down glucose into pyruvic acid and yielding approximately $2\text{ ATP}$ per glucose molecule.

Aerobic Metabolism

An energy production process requiring oxygen ($O_2$) that includes the citric acid cycle and electron transport chain, yielding carbon dioxide ($CO_2$), water ($H_2O$), and approximately $36\text{ ATP}$ per glucose molecule.

Citric Acid (Krebs) Cycle

A cyclic sequence of reactions in aerobic energy metabolism that processes acetyl-CoA, produces reduced electron carriers, and links nutrient metabolism to mitochondrial ATP generation.

Electron Transport Chain

A sequence of carriers along the inner mitochondrial membrane where electrons move, oxygen ($O_2$) accepts electrons to form water ($H_2O$), and released energy drives ATP synthesis.

Transport Vesicles

Structures that move molecules, such as proteins, between cellular compartments (e.g., from the rough ER toward the Golgi complex).

Vaults

Cellular structures that may transport messenger RNA or ribosomal units from the nucleus to the cytoplasm.

Four Major Tissue Types

The fundamental tissue categories in human body organization: muscle, nervous, epithelial, and connective tissues.