Term | Definition |
Light Microscope | An optical instrument with lenses that refract (bend) visible light to magnify images of specimens. |
Organelles | Any of several membrane-enclosed structures with specialized functions, suspended in the cytosol of eukaryotic cells. |
Electron Microscope | A microscope that uses magnets to focus an electron beam on or through a specimen, resulting in resolving power a thousandfold greater than that of a light microscope. |
Cytosol | The semifluid portion of the cytoplasm. |
Eukaryotic Cell | A type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. |
Prokaryotic Cell | A type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles. |
Cytoplasm | The contents of the cell, exclusive of the nucleus and bounded by the plasma membrane. |
Plasma membrane | The membrane at the boundary of every cell that acts as a selective barrier, regulating the cell's chemical composition. |
Nucleus | The chromosome-containing organelle of a eukaryotic cell. |
Chromosome | A cellular structure carrying genetic material, found in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. |
Transport Vesicles | A tiny membranous sac in a cell's cytoplasm carrying molecules produced by the cell. |
Mitochondria | An organelle in eukaryotic cells that serves as the site of cellular respiration. |
Chloroplasts | An organelle found in plants and photosynthetic protists that absorbs sunlight and uses it to drive the synthesis of organic compounds from carbon dioxide and water. |
Cytoskeleton | A network of microtubules, microfilaments, and intermediate filaments that branch throughout the cytoplasm and serve a variety of mechanical, transport, and signalling functions. |
Cilia | A short cellular appendage containing microtubules. |
Cell Wall | A protective layer external to the plasma membrane in the cells of plants, prokaryotes, fungi, and some protists. |
Extracellular Matrix (ECM) | The substance in which animal cells are embedded, consisting of protein and polysaccharides synthesized and secreted by the cells. |