What Would We Expect to Find Inside of Our Cells?

What Would We Expect to Find Inside of Our Cells?
Immersed in and bathed by the intracellular fluid are small compartments
called organelles. The word organelle means "little organ." Two of the
more recognizable organelles are the nucleus and mitochondria. Other
organelles include endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes,
and peroxisomes  . The various organelles are little oper-
ation centers within cells. Each type of organelle performs a different and
specialized job  . Each organelle has its own membrane with
many similarities to the plasma membrane. Therefore, as we discuss the
nature of the plasma membrane below you can keep in mind that some of
these features also pertain to organelle membranes as well.


Table 2.1 Overview of Organelle Function
Organelle       Function and Specialized Features
Nucleus         Houses almost all of our DNA
Mitochondria    Is the site of most ATP manufacturing in cells; houses some DNA
Lysosomes       Involved in breaking down unnecessary or foreign substances;
                contains acidic environment and digestive enzymes
Endoplasmic     Involved in making proteins and lipid substances destined to be
reticulum       exported from cell
Peroxisomes     Like lysosomes but with different assortment of enzymes; site of
                detoxification
Golgi           The final packaging site for substances ready to be exported
apparatus       from a cell
 
   Cells contain special compartments called organelles, which have
   special functions to support total cell function.
  Also within the intracellular fluid of certain cells we would expect
to find some energy reserves in the form of fat droplets and glycogen
(carbohydrate)  . The amount of glycogen and fat will
vary depending on the type of cell. Another important component of
cells is ribosomes. Ribosomes are the actual site where proteins are
constructed.