ZOOLAB: The Animal Cell

• Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum: Assembles and produces lipids.
• Ribosomes: Site for protein synthesis
• Mitochondria: the powerhouse of the cell, responsible for the energy (ATP) transactions necessary for cell survival
• Centriole: organizes microtubules and help with cell division in animal cell. The centrioles help in the formation of the spindle fibers that separate the chromosomes during cell division (mitosis).
• Nucleus: Consists of DNA and other genetic material.
• Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum: Assembles proteins.
• Golgi Apparatus: Processes, packages and transport proteins.
• Cell Membranes: Protects the cell and facilitates what goes in and out of the cell.
• Lysosome: Digests waste materials within the cell.
• Vacuoles: for storage, ingestion and excretion of molecules such as water and protein.
• Peroxisome: contains oxidative enzymes useful for metabolic processes within the cell.
• Chloroplast: Capture chemical energy from sunlight and convert it to chemical energy (photosynthesis)
• Cytoskeleton: Maintains cell shape and organization.
• Cell Wall: A rigid structure that surrounds the cell and provides support and protection.
• Also called as erythrocytes, contains hemoglobin, smaller than white blood cells, nucleus and DNA is absent

  Red Blood Cells
• Also called leukocytes, colorless, with no pigment, larger than RBCs, and contain nuclei and DNA.

  White Blood Cells
• Nucleus: controls and regulates the cell’s functions and transports the genes and structures that hold the hereditary information
• Cytoplasm: responsible for holding the components of the cell and protecting the cell’s genetic material and organelles from damage
• Plasma Membrane: Protects the cell from its external environment, facilitates cellular transport and transmits cellular signals
• Red Blood Cells: Transport oxygen from the lungs as well as nutrients
• Epithelial Cheek Cell: A squamous epithelial cell found in the basal mucosa, the tissue that lines the interior of the mouth. Covers the inner surface of the mouth and are frequently described as being flat with polygonal or irregular form.
• Methylene Blue Stain: A common biological stain used for microscopic investigation of cells including cheek cells.
• The Cell Theory is a scientific theory developed by two scientists, Theodor Schwann and Matthias Jakob Schleiden.

  This states that:

  1. All organisms are made out of one or more cells.
  2. Cells is the basic unit of life.
  3. Cells came from pre-existing cells