Chapter VI: Cell Structure and Function

Learning Objectives

Course Objective for this section: Discuss and apply biological theories and concepts of the cellular basis of life, including cell structure and function and the metabolic processes that affect cells.

  • Describe the structure and function of cellular structures contained in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.

Close your eyes and picture a brick wall. What is the basic building block of that wall? It is a single brick, of course. Like a brick wall, your body is composed of basic building blocks, and the building blocks of your body are cells (Figure 1a-c).

Your body has many kinds of cells, each specialized for a specific purpose. Just as a home is made from a variety of building materials, the human body is constructed from many cell types. For example, epithelial cells protect the surface of the body and cover the organs and body cavities within. Bone cells help to support and protect the body. Cells of the immune system fight invading bacteria. Additionally, red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body. Each of these cell types plays a vital role during the growth, development, and day-to-day maintenance of the body. In spite of their enormous variety, however, all cells share certain fundamental characteristics.

figure_03_1
Figure 1 (a) Nasal sinus cells (viewed with a light microscope), (b) onion cells (viewed with a light microscope), and (c) Vibrio tasmaniensis bacterial cells (viewed using a scanning electron microscope) are from very different organisms, yet all share certain characteristics of basic cell structure. (credit a: modification of work by Ed Uthman, MD; credit b: modification of work by Umberto Salvagnin; credit c: modification of work by Anthony D’Onofrio; scale-bar data from Matt Russell)

Chapter VI: Cell Structure and Function

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This educational material includes AI-generated content from ChatGPT by OpenAI. The original content created by Dr. Zeinab Motawe from Hillsborough College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
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Biology I Cellular Processes by Zeinab Motawe is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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