Animal cell organelles

Cell organelles are the structures within a cell. They are a bit
like the organs in a human body. They each have a specific
role to play and have a distinctive shape and size.
Cell Membrane - The cell membrane encloses the cell
contents. Its main function is to control what gets into and
out of the cell.
Cytoplasm - The cytoplasm contains primarily water and
protein material. This is where the other cell organelles
reside, and where most of the cellular activities take
place.
Nucleus - The nucleus generally contains the genetic
material for the cell. Because it contains the DNA and
chromosomes, which affect the proteins that determine
the activities of the cell, the nucleus can be considered to
be the cell's control centre.
Ribosomes - Ribosomes are where protein synthesis
takes place. Some are attached to the rough
endoplasmic reticulum, and some are free in the
cytoplasm.
Lysosomes - Lysosomes are membrane-bound sacs of enzymes. In a controlled and specific
way, they breakdown old or unneeded parts of the cell into small organic molecules that can be
reused.
Mitochondria - Mitochondria are large organelles where oxygen is combined with food to
produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the primary energy source for the cell. Mitochondria
contain their own DNA, RNA and ribosomes, and can reproduce themselves independently of
the cell in which they are found.
Golgi Apparatus - The Golgi apparatus is composed of small membranous sacs, and is
associated with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Though its function is still not entirely
understood, it seems that proteins from the ER travel to the Golgi apparatus, where they are
transformed and packaged into sacs before being moved to their final destination.
Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) - The endoplasmic reticulum is a series of interconnecting
flattened tubular tunnels. There are two sorts of endoplasmic reticulum - rough ER and smooth
ER. The rough ER has lots of attached ribosomes. The smooth ER has no attached ribosomes and
so looks 'smooth'. The rough ER takes in the proteins made on the ribosomes so that they
cannot escape into the cytoplasm. The smooth ER is not involved in protein synthesis, but has
other functions.
Most of the proteins leaving the endoplasmic reticulum require further processing in the Golgi
apparatus, before they are ready to perform functions within or outside the cell.

The interesting definitions of the animal cell organelles.

1. Cell membrane: a partially permeable membrane
made of proteins that lets some stuff enter the cell
and others not, located outside around the cell.
 2. Nucleus: controls many cell function, controls protein synthesis, contains DNA
(chromosomes), also contains nucleolus. Usually located in the middle of the cell.
3. Cytoplasm: jelly like material in which holds the other organelles, it also holds nutrients
for the organelles, located inside the cell membrane.
4. Vacuole: storage, holds digested food and waste materials that’s on their way out of the
cell. Located in the cytoplasm.
5. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum: a vast system of interconnected, infolded tubes that
transport materials trough the cell. Contains enzymes and produces/ digest lipids and
membrane proteins. Connected to the nucleus’s membrane.
6. Rough endoplasmic reticulum: a vast system of interconnected, infolded sacks that moves
material trough the cell and produces proteins in the sacks. Rough because of the
ribosomes on it. Connected to the nucleus’s membrane.
7. Ribosomes: sites protein synthesis, contain rich RNA cytoplasmic granules. Highest
concentration on rough ER, also located throughout cytoplasm.
8. Golgi apparatus: modification, storage, sorting, and dispatching of cell’s products,
located near the nucleus.
9. Mitochondrion: power plants of cell, cellular respiration, located in the cytoplasm.
10. Nucleolus: produces ribosome’s RNA, located in the nucleus.
11. Lysosome: digests food, foreign materials, and damaged organelles, located in the
cytoplasm.
12. Centrioles: makes microtubules, during mitosis it divides and moves to opposites sides on
the cell, located near the nucleus

Organelle
In cell biology, an organelle (pronounced /ɔrɡəˈnɛl/) is
a specialized subunit within a cell that has a specific
function, and is usually separately enclosed within its
own lipid bilayer.
The name organelle comes from the idea that these
structures are to cells what an organ is to the body (hence
the name organelle, the suffix -elle being a diminutive).
Organelles are identified by microscopy, and can also be
purified by cell fractionation. There are many types of
organelles, particularly in eukaryotic cells. Prokaryotes
were once thought not to have organelles, but some
examples have now been identified.[1]
History and terminology
In biology, organs are defined as confined functional
units within an organism. The analogy of bodily organs to
microscopic cellular substructures is obvious, as from
even early works, authors of respective textbooks rarely
elaborate on the distinction between the two.
Credited as the first[2][3][4] to use a diminutive of organ (i.e. little organ) for cellular structures was
German zoologist Karl August Möbius (1884), who used the term "organula" [5] (plural form of
organulum, the diminutive of latin organum). From the context, it is clear that he referred to
reproduction related structures of protists. In a footnote, which was published as a correction in
the next issue of the journal, he justified his suggestion to call organs of unicellular organisms
"organella" since they are only differently formed parts of one cell, in contrast to multicellular
organs of multicellular organisms. Thus, the original definition was limited to structures of
unicellular organisms.
It would take several years before organulum, or the later term organelle, became accepted and
expanded in meaning to include subcellular structures in multicellular organisms. Books around
1900 from Valentin Häcker,[6] Edmund Wilson[7] and Oscar Hertwig[8] still referred to cellular
organs. Later, both terms came to be used side by side:
Bengt Lidforss wrote 1915 (in German) about "Organs or
Organells".[9]
Around 1920, the term organelle was used to describe
propulsion structures ("motor organelle complex", i.e.,
flagella and their anchoring)[10] and other protist
structures, such as ciliates.[11] Alfred Kühn wrote about
centrioles as division organelles, although he stated that,
for Vahlkampfias, the alternative 'organelle' or 'product of
structural build-up' had not yet been decided, without
explaining the difference between the alternatives.[12]
In his 1953 textbook, Max Hartmann used the term for
extracellular (pellicula, shells, cell walls) and intracellular skeletons of protists.[13]
Later, the now-widely-used[14][15][16][17] definition of organelle emerged, after which only cellular
structures with surrounding membrane had been considered organelles. However, the more
original definition of subcellular functional unit in general still coexists.[18][19]
In 1978, Albert Frey-Wyssling suggested that the term organelle should refer only to structures
that convert energy, such as centrosomes, ribosomes, and nucleoli.[20][21] This new definition,
however, did not win wide recognition.
Examples
While most cell biologists consider the term
organelle to be synonymous with "cell
compartment," other cell biologists choose to limit
the term organelle to include only those that are
DNA-containing, having originated from formerly-
autonomous microscopic organisms acquired via
endosymbiosis.
The most notable of these organelles having
originated from endosymbiont bacteria are:
• mitochondria (in almost all eukaryotes)
• chloroplasts (in plants, algae and protists).
Other organelles are also suggested to have endosymbiotic origins, (notably the flagellum - see
evolution of flagella).
Under the more restricted definition of membrane-
bound structures, some parts of the cell do not
qualify as organelles. Nevertheless, the use of
organelle to refer to non-membrane bound
structures such as ribosomes is quite common[25].
This has led some texts to delineate between
membrane-bound and non-membrane bound
organelles[26]. These structures are large assemblies
of macromolecules that carry out particular and
specialized functions, but they lack membrane
boundaries. Such cell structures include:
• ribosome
• cytoskeleton
• flagellum
• centriole and microtubule-organizing center (MTOC).

Eukaryotic organelles
Eukaryotes are one of the most structurally
complex cell type, and by definition are in part
organized by smaller interior compartments, that
are themselves enclosed by lipid membranes that
resemble the outermost cell membrane. The larger
organelles, such as the nucleus and vacuoles, are
easily visible with the light microscope. They were
among the first biological discoveries made after
the invention of the microscope.
Not all eukaryotic cells have every one of the
organelles listed below. Exceptional organisms
have cells which do not include some organelles
that might otherwise be considered universal to
eukaryotes (such as mitochondria).[27] There are
also occasional exceptions to the number of
membranes surrounding organelles, listed in the
tables below (e.g., some that are listed as double-
membrane are sometimes found with single or triple
membranes). In addition, the number of individual
organelles of each type found in a given cell varies
depending upon the function of that cell.
Prokaryotic organelles
Prokaryotes are not as structurally complex as eukaryotes, and were once thought not to have any
internal structures enclosed by lipid membranes. In the past, they were often viewed as having
little internal organization; but, slowly, details are emerging about prokaryotic internal structures.
An early false turn was the idea developed in the 1970s that bacteria might contain membrane
folds termed mesosomes, but these were later shown to be artifacts produced by the chemicals
used to prepare the cells for electron microscopy.[30]
However, more recent research has revealed that at least some prokaryotes have
microcompartments such as carboxysomes. These subcellular compartments are 100 - 200 nm in
diameter and are enclosed by a shell of proteins.[1] Even more striking is the description of
membrane-bound magnetosomes in bacteria,[31][32] as well as the nucleus-like structures of the
Planctomycetes that are surrounded by lipid membranes.[33]