Cell Types and Modifications

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering plant and animal cell differences, tissue types, and specialized cell modifications as discussed in General Biology 1.

Tissue

Groups of cells with a common origin and function.

Meristematic Tissue

Plant tissue composed of actively dividing cells, found in areas such as the root tip and shoot tip.

Permanent Tissue

Mature, non-dividing plant cells classified as either simple (Parenchyma, Collenchyma, Sclerenchyma) or complex (Xylem, Phloem).

Epithelial Tissue

Animal tissue that covers body surfaces and lines organs.

Connective Tissue

Animal tissue that supports and binds other tissues; examples include blood, bone, and cartilage.

Muscular Tissue

Animal tissue that enables movement.

Nervous Tissue

Animal tissue that conducts impulses for coordination.

Plasmodesmata

Channels that may be present in plant cells used for communication and transport, which are absent in animal cells.

Centrioles

Paired structures located within the centrosome of animal cells that are not found in plant cells.

Microvilli

Modified cell structures that increase the surface area for the absorption of nutrients and essential substances from the gut cavity.

Cilia

Hair-like structures with a core of $9$ pairs of microtubules on the outside ring and $2$ microtubules in the central portion, used in the respiratory tract to prevent mucus and bacteria from entering the lungs.

Stereocilia

Specialized structures such as those in a frog’s inner ear that allow it to detect sounds and escape potential threats.

Flagella

Tail-like structures that provide motility to cells, such as those found in Euglena.

Basal Infoldings

Structures found at the basement membrane of epithelial cells responsible for increasing surface area and for ion and fluid transport.

Hemidesmosomes

Structures found at the basement membrane that help epithelial tissue provide protection and structural support to underlying cells.

Cell Junctions

Structures in epithelial cells responsible for connecting adjacent cells, including tight junctions, adherens junctions, desmosomes, and gap junctions.

Tight Junctions

A type of cell junction that prevents the leakage of substances.

Gap Junctions

Cell junctions that serve as channels for ions, water, and other essential substances.

Red Blood Cells

Biconcave cells that lack a nucleus and mitochondria to maximize space for hemoglobin and transport oxygen.

White Blood Cells

Cells responsible for the body’s defenses, categorized as either granulocytes or agranulocytes.

Egg Cells

The largest cells in the human body, necessary for sexual reproduction, characterized by two outer membrane layers: zona pellucida and corona radiata.

Trichomes

Epidermal outgrowths in plants responsible for preventing insect attacks, shading leaves, and trapping insects.

Root Hairs

Tiny hair-like structures originating from the plant epidermis that facilitate the absorption of water from the substrate.

Mesophyll

The layer of a leaf primarily responsible for photosynthesis, composed of palisade cells and spongy cells.

Xylem

Vascular tissue responsible for transporting water and minerals from the soil to different parts of the plant.

Phloem

Vascular tissue responsible for transporting essential substances like food and photosynthetic by-products.

Amyloplast

A plant cell organelle, also known as a starch grain, used to store excess glucose as starch.

Glycogen

The form in which animal cells store excess glucose.