Skip to main content
Back

Anatomy & Physiology: Cell Structure and Function

Control buttons has been changed to "navigation" mode.
1/31

Terms in this set (31)

  • Cell
    The basic structural and functional unit of the body.
  • Plasma membrane
    A thin, selectively permeable membrane surrounding a cell that controls what enters and leaves.
  • Cytoplasm
    All the material inside the cell except the nucleus; includes cytosol and organelles.
  • Organelle
    A specialized structure inside a cell that performs a specific function.
  • Nucleus
    The cell's control center that contains DNA and directs cell activities.
  • Fluid mosaic model
    Model describing the membrane as a flexible phospholipid bilayer with proteins embedded within it.
  • Phospholipid
    A molecule with a water-loving head and water-fearing tails that forms the main structure of cell membranes.
  • Glycocalyx
    A carbohydrate-rich coating on the outside of the plasma membrane that helps with cell protection and recognition.
  • Tight junctions
    Connections between cells that prevent substances from passing between them.
  • Desmosome
    A strong cell-to-cell attachment that helps tissues resist stretching and pulling.
  • Gap junction
    A connection between cells that allows ions and small molecules to pass directly between them.
  • Diffusion
    Movement of particles from an area of higher concentration to lower concentration.
  • Facilitated diffusion
    Movement of substances down their concentration gradient through membrane proteins.
  • Osmosis
    Diffusion of water across a selectively permeable membrane.
  • Isotonic solution
    A solution with the same effective solute concentration as the cell, causing no net water movement.
  • Hypertonic solution
    A solution with a higher effective solute concentration than the cell, causing water to leave the cell.
  • Hypotonic solution
    A solution with a lower effective solute concentration than the cell, causing water to enter the cell.
  • Active transport
    Movement of substances across a membrane using cellular energy (ATP), usually against a concentration gradient.
  • Sodium-potassium pump
    A membrane protein that uses ATP to move 3 Na⁺ out of a cell and 2 K⁺ into a cell.
  • Exocytosis
    Process in which a vesicle fuses with the plasma membrane and releases its contents outside the cell.
  • Endocytosis
    Process in which the plasma membrane surrounds and brings substances into the cell.
  • Phagocytosis
    "Cell eating"; endocytosis of large particles or cells.
  • Pinocytosis
    "Cell drinking"; endocytosis of extracellular fluid and dissolved substances.
  • Mitochondria
    Organelles that produce most of the cell's ATP through cellular respiration.
  • Ribosomes
    Structures that build proteins.
  • Rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER)
    Membrane network covered with ribosomes that makes and transports proteins.
  • Smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER)
    Membrane network without ribosomes that makes lipids, detoxifies substances, and stores calcium.
  • Golgi apparatus
    Organelle that modifies, sorts, and packages proteins and lipids for transport.
  • Lysosome
    Membrane-bound organelle containing digestive enzymes that break down waste, damaged cell parts, and foreign materials.
  • Transcription
    Process of using DNA as a template to make messenger RNA (mRNA).
  • Translation
    Process of using mRNA instructions to assemble a protein at a ribosome.