| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Cell Theory | Cell theory refers to the idea that cells are the basic unit of structure in every living thing. |
| Cell wall | A cell wall is a tough, flexible and sometimes fairly rigid layer that surrounds some types of cells. |
| Mitochondria | In cell biology,Mitochondria is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in most eukaryotic cells. |
| Cell Membrane | The cell membrane (also called the plasma membrane, plasmalemma, or "phospholipid bilayer") is the interface between the cellular machinery inside the cell and the fluid outside. |
| Nucleus | In cell biology, the nucleus (pl. nuclei; from Latin nucleus or nuculeus, or kernel) is a membrane-enclosed organelle found in all eukaryotic cells. |
| Chloroplast | Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and other eukaryotic organisms that conduct photosynthesis. |
| Chlorophyll | Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Its name is derived from Greek: χλωρός (chloros "green") and φύλλον (phyllon "leaf"). |
| Vacuole | A vacuole is a membrane-bound organelle which is present in all eukaryotic cells. |
| Cytoplasm | The cytoplasm is the part of a cell that is enclosed within the plasma membrane. In eukaryotic cells the cytoplasm contains organelles, such as mitochondria, that are filled with liquid kept separate from the rest of the cytoplasm by biological membranes. |
| Prokaryote | The prokaryotes (pronounced /proʊˈkærioʊts/; singular prokaryote /proʊˈkæriət/) are a group of organisms that lack a cell nucleus (= karyon), or any other membrane-bound organelles. They differ from the eukaryotes, which have a cell nucleus. Most are unicellular, but a few prokaryotes such as myxobacteria have multicellular stages in their life cycles. |
| Eukaryote | Animals, plants, fungi, and protists are eukaryotes (IPA: /juːˈkæriɒt/ or /juːˈkærioʊt/), organisms whose cells are organized into complex structures enclosed within membranes. The defining membrane-bound structure that differentiates eukaryotic cells from prokaryotic cells is the nucleus. The presence of a nucleus gives these organisms their name, which comes from the Greek ευ (eu), meaning "good/true," and κάρυον (karyon), "nut." Many eukaryotic cells contain other membrane-bound organelles such as mitochondria, chloroplasts and Golgi bodies. |
| Golgi Complex | The Golgi apparatus (also called the Golgi body, Golgi complex, or dictyosome) is an organelle found in most eukaryotic cells. It was identified in 1898 by the Italian physician Camillo Golgi and was named after him. The primary function of the Golgi apparatus is to process and package the macromolecules such as proteins and lipids that are synthesized by the cell. It is particularly important in the processing of proteins for secretion. The Golgi apparatus forms a part of the endomembrane system of eukaryotic cells. |
| Ribosomes | Ribosomes (from ribonucleic acid and "Greek: soma (meaning body)") are complexes of RNA and protein that are found in all cells. Ribosomes from bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes, the three domains of life on Earth, have significantly different structure and RNA. Interestingly, the ribosomes in the mitochondrion of eukaryotic cells resemble those in bacteria, reflecting the evolutionary origin of this organelle.[1] The ribosome functions in the expression of the genetic code from nucleic acid into protein, in a process called translation. Ribosomes do this by catalyzing the assembly of individual amino acids into polypeptide chains; this involves binding a messenger RNA and then using this as a template to join together the correct sequence of amino acids. This reaction uses adapters called transfer RNA molecules, which read the sequence of the messenger RNA and are attached to the amino acids. |
| DNA | Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and some viruses. The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information. DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints or a recipe, or a code, since it contains the instructions needed to construct other components of cells, such as proteins and RNA molecules. |
| Plant Cell | Plant cells are eukaryotic cells that differ in several key respects from the cells of other eukaryotic organisms. Their distinctive features include: A large central vacuole, a sap-filled volume enclosed by a membrane known as the tonoplast[1][2] maintains the cell's turgor, controls movement of molecules between the cytosol and sap, stores useful material and digests waste proteins and organelles. A cell wall composed of cellulose and hemicellulose, pectin and in many cases lignin, and secreted by the protoplast on the outside of the cell membrane. This contrasts with the cell walls of fungi (which are made of chitin), and of bacteria, which are made of peptidoglycan. Specialised cell-cell communication pathways known as plasmodesmata[3], pores in the primary cell wall through which the plasmalemma and endoplasmic reticulum[4] of adjacent cells are continuous. Plastids, notably the chloroplasts which contain chlorophyll and the biochemical systems for light harvesting and photosynthesis, but also amyloplasts specialized for starch storage, elaioplasts specialized for fat storage and chromoplasts specialized for synthesis and storage of pigments. As in mitochondria, which have a genome encoding 37 genes[5] plastids have their own genomes of about 100-120 unique genes[6] and probably arose as prokaryotic endosymbionts living in the cells of an early eukaryotic ancestor of the land plants and algae.[7] Cell division by construction of a phragmoplast as a template for building a cell plate late in cytokinesis is characteristic of land plants and a few groups of algae, notably the Charophytes[8] and the Order Trentepohliales[9] The sperm of Bryophytes have flagellae similar to those in animals,[10][11] but higher plants, (including Gymnosperms and flowering plants) lack the flagellae and centrioles[12] that are present in animal cells. |
| Animal Cell | Animal cell Structure of a typical animal cell. Structure of a typical plant cell. An animal cell is a form of eukaryotic cell that makes up many tissues in animals. The animal cell is distinct from other eukaryotes, most notably plant cells, as they lack cell walls and chloroplasts, and they have smaller vacuoles. Due to the lack of a rigid cell wall, animal cells can adopt a variety of shapes, and a phagocytic cell can even engulf other structures. There are many different cell types. For instance, there are approximately 210 distinct cell types in the adult human body. |
| Organelle | In cell biology, an organelle (pronunciation: /ɔː(r)gəˡnɛl/) is a specialized subunit within a cell that has a specific function, and is usually separately enclosed within its own lipid membrane. A typical animal cell. Within the cytoplasm, the major organelles and cellular structures include: (1) nucleolus (2) nucleus (3) ribosome (4) vesicle (5) rough endoplasmic reticulum (6) Golgi apparatus (7) cytoskeleton (8) smooth endoplasmic reticulum (9) mitochondria (10) vacuole (11) cytosol (12) lysosome (13) centriole. The name organelle comes from the idea that these structures are to cells what an organ is to the body (hence the name organelle, the suffix -elle being a diminutive). Organelles are identified by microscopy, and can also be purified by cell fractionation. There are many types of organelles, particularly in the eukaryotic cells of higher organisms. Prokaryotes were once thought not to have organelles, but some examples have now been identified.[1] |
| Bacteria | The Bacteria [bækˈtɪərɪə] (help·info) (singular: bacterium)[α] are a large group of unicellular microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals. Bacteria are ubiquitous in every habitat on Earth, growing in soil, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste,[2] water, and deep in the Earth's crust, as well as in organic matter and the live bodies of plants and animals. There are typically 40 million bacterial cells in a gram of soil and a million bacterial cells in a millilitre of fresh water; in all, there are approximately five nonillion (5×1030) bacteria on Earth,[3] forming much of the world's biomass.[4] Bacteria are vital in recycling nutrients, with many important steps in nutrient cycles depending on these organisms, such as the fixation of nitrogen from the atmosphere and putrefaction. However, most bacteria have not been characterized, and only about half of the phyla of bacteria have species that can be cultured in the laboratory.[5] The study of bacteria is known as bacteriology, a branch of microbiology. |
| Respiration | In animal physiology, respiration is the transport of Oxygen from the outside air to the cells within tissues and the transport of carbon dioxide in the opposite direction. This is in contrast to the biochemical definition of respiration, which refers to cellular respiration: the metabolic process by which an organism obtains energy by reacting oxygen with glucose to give water, carbon dioxide and ATP (energy). Although physiologic respiration is necessary to sustain cellular respiration and thus life in animals, the processes are distinct: cellular respiration takes place in individual cells of the animal, while physiologic respiration concerns the bulk flow and transport of metabolites between the organism and the external environment. In unicellular organisms, simple diffusion is sufficient for gas exchange: every cell is constantly bathed in the external environment, with only a short distance for gases to flow across. In contrast, complex multicellular animals such as humans have a much greater distance between the environment and their innermost cells, thus, a respiratory system is needed for effective gas exchange. The respiratory system works in concert with a circulatory system to carry gases to and from the tissues. In air-breathing vertebrates such as humans, respiration of oxygen includes four stages: Ventilation, moving of the ambient air into and out of the alveoli of the lungs. Pulmonary gas exchange, exchange of gases between the alveoli and the pulmonary capillaries. Gas transport, movement of gases within the pulmonary capillaries through the circulation to the peripheral capillaries in the organs, and then a movement of gases back to the lungs along the same circulatory route. Peripheral gas exchange, exchange of gases between the tissue capillaries and the tissues or organs, impacting the cells composing these and mitochondria within the cells. Note that ventilation and gas transport require energy to power a mechanical pump (the heart) and the muscles of respitation, mainly the diaphragm. In heavy breathing, energy is also required to power additional respiatory muscles such as the intercostal muscles. The energy requirement for ventiliation and gas transport is in contrast to the passive diffusion taking place in the gas exchange steps. |
| Photosynthesis | Photosynthesis[α] is a metabolic pathway that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight.[1] Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of Bacteria, but not in Archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, but not all organisms that use light as a source of energy carry out photosynthesis, since photoheterotrophs use organic compounds, rather than carbon dioxide, as a source of carbon.[2] In plants, algae and cyanobacteria photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide and water, releasing oxygen as a waste product. Photosynthesis is crucially important for life on Earth, since as well as it maintaining the normal level of oxygen in the atmosphere, nearly all life either depends on it directly as a source of energy, or indirectly as the ultimate source of the energy in their food.[2][β] The amount of energy trapped by photosynthesis is immense, approximately 100 terawatts per year |
| Transfusion | Transfusion is the process of transferring Cell or Cell-based products from one person into the circulatory system of another. |
| Plasma | Blood plasma is the liquid component of blood, in which the blood cells are suspended. It makes up about 55% of total blood volume. It is composed of mostly water (90% by volume), and contains dissolved proteins, glucose, clotting factors, mineral ions, hormones and carbon dioxide (plasma being the main medium for excretory product transportation). Blood plasma is prepared simply by spinning a tube of fresh blood in a centrifuge until the blood cells fall to the bottom of the tube. The blood plasma is then poured or drawn off. Blood serum is blood plasma without fibrinogen or the other clotting factors. |
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