Organelles

Flagella and Cilia

Flagella and cilia are external projections, they are used for locomotion or for moving substances along the surface of a cell and are made of tubes or protein. Cilia are short projections and either cover all or a portion of the cell.

Cell Wall

The cell wall provides support and protection to the cell. The algae and plants cell wall is made out of cellulose and fungi cell walls are made up of chitin

Cell Membrane

The cell membrane will pick what materials can enter and exit the cell. It is the outer living boundary of the cell and is made up of phospholipids and proteins

Cytoplasm

Cyto means cell and plasm means fluid. The cytoplasm includes everything inside of the cell membrane and outside the nucleus. The cytoplasm fluid is mostly made up of H2O and the cytoskeleton. It also provides the shape and support to the cell. The movements of the fluid called cytoplasmic streaming help disperse nutrients through the cell

Endoplasmic Reticulum

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a system of pairs of parallel membranes that enclose narrow cavities and form a network of canals. It’s continuous with the cell membrane and the nuclear membrane. Lipids and are made here and proteins (made at ribosomes) are transported to the ER. The ER provides a surface area for chemical reactions and is a pathway for the transportation of molecules and a storage area for synthesized molecules. The smooth ER (SER) lacks ribosomes while the rough ER (RER) is lined up with ribosomes all around itself

Nucleus

The nucleus is usually spherical or oval-shaped and is often the largest structure inside of a cell. It contains hereditary information (DNA), is separated from the cytoplasm by a double membrane and the fluid inside of it is called nucleoplasm. It contains the nucleoli which is the site for ribosome production. The nucleus also contains DNA and proteins in the form of chromatin and chromosomes

Ribosomes

Ribosomes are small organelles that are not membrane-bound. They are small dense spherical bodies made up of strands of rRNA (ribosomal RNA), they are the site of protein synthesis in cells. Ribosomes can also be found free in the cytoplasm that is attached to the RER or as polysomes. A polysome is a cluster of ribosomes that provide a site for the production of proteins that are needed within a cell

Golgi Body

The Golgi body consists of 4-8 flattened disks which are called cisternae which is a bulge at the ends to bud off spherical vesicles. The Golgi may sometimes connect to the ER and the main function of the Golgi body is to package and secrete proteins, liquids, and carbohydrates

Vesicles and Vacuoles

Vesicles and vacuoles are all made up of enclosed membrane spheres used to store or transport materials in cells. Vacuoles are large compartments and vesicles are tiny compartments. Lysosomes are specialized compartments that are filled with digestive (proteolytic) enzymes

Mitochondria

The mitochondria are small organelles that are bean-shaped and filamentous and appear throughout the cytoplasm. They have a double membrane system that has an enclosing fluid-filled matrix. While the outer membrane of the mitochondria is smooth, the inside is highly convoluted and provides a large surface area for the reactions of cellular respiration to happen. The mitochondria also produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the energy currency of cells. The overall reaction for the mitochondria is C6H12O6 + 6O2 → 6CO2 + 6H2O + ATP

Chloroplasts

Chloroplasts are unique to plant and algae cells. They are a membranous structure that contains chlorophyll and the enzymes that are needed for photosynthesis in the membranous stacks called thylakoids