Human Cell Parts
Human cells contain the following major parts:
- Nucleus: the cell’s command center. It sends directions to the cell to grow, mature, divide, or die. It also houses DNA, the cell’s hereditary material. The nucleus is surrounded by a membrane that protects the DNA and separates the nucleus from the rest of the cell.
- Cytoplasm: a jelly-like fluid and other structures that surround the nucleus.
- Cytoskeleton: a network of long fibers that make up the cell’s structural framework:
- It determines cell shape,
- It participates in cell division,
- It allows cells to move,
- It provides a track-like system that directs the movement of organelles and other substances.
- Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER): this organelle processes molecules created by the cell, and transports them to their specific destinations inside or outside the cell.
- Golgi apparatus: this apparatus packages molecules processed by the ER to be transported out of the cell.
- Lyso-somes and Peroxi-somes: these organelles are the recycling center of the cell. They digest foreign bacteria that invade the cell, remove toxic substances, and recycle worn-out cell components.
- Mitochondria: complex organelles that convert energy from food into a form that the cell can use. They have genetic material, separate from the DNA in the nucleus, and can make copies of themselves.
- Ribosomes: organelles that process the cell’s genetic instructions to create proteins. These organelles float freely in the cytoplasm or be connected to the ER.
- Plasma membrane: the outer lining of the cell. This liquid crystal separates the cell from its environment and allows materials to enter and exit the cell.
Image made through Radiography + Nuclear-Magnetic-Resonance + Cryo-electro-microscopy