ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

CELLS
 The Cell (The Basis of Life)
• The cell is the fundamental structural and
functional unit of all forms of living things.
• In unicellular organisms , all the structures and
functions of the organism are seated within a
single cell.
• In this course you are required of having
knowledge of the basic animal cell in a better
depth.
 The Cell (The Basis of Life)
• You should be able to draw and fully label an
animal cell as appeared under an electron
microscope.
• You should be able to state the most important
cell organelles and inclusions and their functions:
nucleus, plasmalemma, mitochondrion, ER,
Golgi apparatus, ribosomes, peroxisomes.
 STRUCTURE OF AN ANIMAL CELL
Draw the structure of a plant and animal cell
 PLANT AND ANIMAL CELL
ANIMAL CELL PLANT CELLL
NO. Animal Cells Plant Cells
1 Size: Animal cells are generally smaller than plant while plant cells range from 10 and 100
cells. Animal cells range from 10 to 30 micrometers in length
micrometers in length
2 Shape: Animal cells come in various sizes and tend Plant cells are more similar in size and are
to have round or irregular shapes typically rectangular or cube shaped.
3 Energy Storage: Animals cells store energy in the Plant cells store energy as starch.
form of the complex carbohydrate glycogen.
4 Proteins: Of the 20 amino acids needed to produce Plant cells store energy as starch
proteins, only 10 can be produced naturally in
animal cells. The other so called essential amino
acids must be acquired through diet
5 Differentiation: In animal cells, only stem cells are Most plant cell types are capable of
capable of converting to other cell types differentiation
6 Growth: Animal cells increase in size by increasing Plant cells mainly increase cell size by
in cell numbers becoming larger. They grow by absorbing
more water into the central vacuole.
7 Cell Wall: Animal cells do not have a cell wall but Plant cells have a cell wall composed of
have a cell membrane cellulose as well as a cell membrane.
8 Centrioles: Animal cells contain these cylindrical Plant cells do not typically contain
structures that organize the assembly of centrioles
microtubules during cell division
9 Cilia: Cilia are found in animal cells but not Cilia are microtubules that aid in cellular
usually in plant cells locomotion.
10 Cytokinesis: Cytokinesis, the division of the In plant cell cytokinesis, a cell plate is
cytoplasm during cell division, occurs in animal constructed that divides the cell.
cells when a cleavage furrow forms that pinches
the cell membrane in half
11 Glyoxysomes: These structures are not found in They are present in plant cells.
animal cells Glyoxysomes help to degrade lipids,
particularly in germinating seeds, for the
production of sugar.
12 Lysosomes: Animal cells possess lysosomes Plant cells rarely contain lysosomes as
which contain enzymes that digest cellular the plant vacuole handles molecule
macromolecules degradation.
13 Plastids: Animal cells do not have plastids. Plant cells contain plastids such as
chloroplasts, which are needed for
photosynthesis.
14 Plasmodesmata: Animal cells do not have Plant cells have plasmodesmata, which
plasmodesmata are pores between plant cell walls that
allow molecules and
communicationsignalsto pass between
individual plant cells.
15 Vacuole: Animal cells may have many small Plant cells have a large central vacuole
vacuoles that can occupy up to 90% of the cell's
No.
Prokaryotes Cells Eukaryotes Cells
Prokaryotes are usually single- Animal and plant cells are
celled organisms, generally multicellular.

Prokaryotes have no true Eukaryotic cells are more

nucleus as the DNA is not complex and larger than
contained within a membrane,
prokaryotic cells. Animal
but is coiled up in a region of the
cytoplasm called the nucleoid and plant cells contain
many organelles not found
in prokaryotic cells

Prokaryotes propagate most While animal and plant cells

commonly by binary fission. reproduce by mitosis or
meiosis
 Important !!
 All organisms have cells. However,
 the cell structure is not all the same in all organisms:
some cells are prokaryotic (in bacteria); others are
eukaryotic (human cells);
 prokaryotic cells have no defined nucleus and no
membrane-bound organelles whereas eukaryotic cells do;
 plant cells have rigid shape, cell wall, chloroplasts, and
large vacuoles but animal cells don’t.
 Important !!
certain cells such as erythrocytes (RBCs), don’t
have nuclei [anucleate].
 in multicellular organisms, cells form tissues
and organs by intercellular linkages and
communication (signalling).
 in some organisms like Paramecium aurelia,
one cell has two distinct nueclei.
OVERALL FUNCTIONS OF THE UNSPCIALIZED
CELL
• The cell bears the following functions in the
organism:
 maturation and proliferation to allow the
organism to grow and develop;
 metabolism;
 detoxification of substances(poisons and
medicines)
 homeostasis;
 gene transfer to allow reproduction;
 absorption and assimilation of nutrients
 secretion and excretion of wastes
 OVERALL FUNCTIONS OF THE
SPCIALIZED CELL

• specialized cells have special functions.

• E.g. Sex cells carry out sexual reproduction;

neurons carry out sensory functions of the
nervous system; blood cells transport oxygen,
perform immunity and accomplish
haemostasis, etc.
 Functions of The cell Organelles
NUCLEUS: it is the control centre of the cell
especially of reproduction (gene transfer and
cell division).
• It contains the genome of the organism’s cell.
This genome is in the form of
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA).
 Functions of The cell Organelles
• For every cell division, the character of the
parent cell has to be transferred to the
daughter cell. The unit that contains this
genetic character is the gene which is
contained in the DNA and itself is contained in
the chromosome.
 Functions of The cell Organelles
Chromosome: a thread-like DNA
package usually visible under a microscope
especially at the onset of cell division.
• In humans, there are 23 pairs (46)
chromosomes.
• The 22 pairs are autosomes and the 23rd pair is
the sex chromosomes. 1 from male parent and
the 1 from female parent.
• Protein synthesis starts in the nucleus as gene
transcription and DNA replication.
 Ct’d
Mitochondrion: is the “powerhouse of the cell” in which

catabolism of macromolecules occurs in the presence of

oxygen to release energy in the form of adenosine

triphosphate (ATP).

Peroxisomes: are microbodies involved in catabolism of

very long chain fatty acids, branched chain fatty acids, D-

amino acids, and polyamines, reduction of reactive

oxygen species---specifically hydrogen peroxide.

 Ct’d
Ribosomes: are platforms for protein synthesis. Some of

them are attached to the endoplasmic reticulum.

Golgi Apparatus: makes, processes and packages proteins

Lysosome: contains digestive enzymes to help breakdown

of food

Endoplasmic Reticulum: is the “intracellular highway”

through which all sorts of items are transported within the

cell.
 Ct’d
Vacuole: usually contains water.
Chloroplasts: they use sunlight to create food
by photosynthesis.
Cell wall: form the rigid structure of the cell.
 The Unicellular Organisms (Protists)
AMOEBA PROTEUS
Kingdom: Protista
Phylum: Amoebozoa
Subphylum: Sarcodina
class: Tubulinea
Order: Tubulinida
Family: Amoebidae
Genus: Amoeba
Species: proteus
 Ct’d
Amoeba proteus is a unicellular microorganism. It is a
protozoon with an irregular shaped animal cell
structure.
 It inhabits: fresh water environments (ponds and
ditches)
 It respires by: simple diffusion of oxygen dissolved
in water
 Using food vacuole, it feeds on other micro-
organisms: protozoans, algae, rotifers, and even
other smaller amoebae these are broken down by
digestive enzymes in the food vacuole
 Ct’d
It moves using false feet (pseudopodia)
 It reproduces asexually by binary fission
(division of one cell to two identical daughter
cells)
Medical Importance: amoebae cause GIT
diseases. E.g. Entamoeba histolytica causes
bloody diarrhoea (dysentery).
 Paramecium aurelia
• It is an oblong slipper-shaped protozoon whose
cell is enclosed by a pellicle from which cilia
project.
• It inhabits aquatic habitats
• It moves by the back-and-forth movement of
the cilia
• It contains a macronucleus and a macronucleus
• It has contractile vacuole for osmoregulation
 Paramecium aurelia
• It respires by simple diffusion as does the
amoebae
• It feeds using cilia and oral groove;
• It feeds primarily on bacteria, and also feeds
on yeast, unicellular algae, milk powder,
starch, powdered charcoal, etc.
Structure of Amoeba proteus
Structure of Paramecium