Welcome to our site about the inner organelles of the animal and plant cell.  Throughout this site you will experience interactive pleasure and learn about the different parts of animal and plant cells. There are also many links to other sites that will help you learn efficiently about the cells.

                                                             

 BASIC CELL INFORMATION

At a microscopic level, we are all composed of cells. Your body has about 10 trillion cells divided into about 200 different types. Our muscles are made of muscle cells, our livers of liver cells, and there are even very specialized types of cells that make the enamel for our teeth or the clear lenses in our eyes!

The cell is the basic unit of life. The cell theory, set forth in the 1850's, says that:

Cells are 90% water. The rest of the present molecules are:

  • 50% protein

  • 15% carbohydrate

  • 15% nucleic acid

  • 10% lipid

  • 10% others

By elements, a cell's composition is:

  • 60% Hydrogen

  • 25% Oxygen

  • 10% Carbon

  • 5% Nitrogen

All cells have three main areas: The cell membrane, the cytoplasm, and the nucleus. The cell is the smallest unit in the living organism that is capable of having the essential life processes. There are many unicellular organisms, for example bacteria and protozoans, in which the single cell performs all life functions. In higher organisms, groups of cells have organized into specialized tissues, which in turn are grouped into organs and organ systems.

Cells can be separated into two major groups; prokaryotes, cells whose DNA is not segregated within a well-defined nucleus surrounded by a nuclear membrane, and eukaryotes, which have a membrane-enveloped nucleus. Bacteria are prokaryotes which are smaller in size and simpler in internal structure than eukaryotes and are believed to have evolved much earlier. All organisms other than bacteria consists of one or more eukaryotic cells.

All cells share a number of common properties: