THE CELL

 The word cell was first introduced by Robert Hooke.

 The cell is the structural and functional unit of the living matter and is capable
of carrying on the process of life.
 The living substance in animals and plants is described by protoplasm which
is bounded by a delicate membrane and consisting of microscopic structure.
The cell is the smallest unit of body.
 There are two cell types: prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Prokaryotic cells are
usually single-celled e.g. bacterial cell staphylococcus and streptococcus, and
smaller than eukaryotic cells. Eukaryotic cells are usually found in
multicellular organisms, e.g. plant cell and animal cell.
 BRIEF INFORMATION OF CELL

 The smallest cell is 0.1 to 0.5 micrometre in bacteria.

 The largest cell measuring 170mm×130mm is the egg of an ostrich.
 Nerve cell in animals are the longest cell.
 Smallest human cell is red blood cell
 Largest human cell is female ovum.
 sieve tube in plants and and mature mammalian red blood cells do not have
nucleus.
 STRUCTURE OF CELL

Each cell is divided into three unit.

 Cell membrane
 Cytoplasm and its organelle
 Nucleus and its contents.
 The fluid mosaic model of the plasma membrane describes the plasma
membrane as a fluid combination of phospholipids, cholesterol, and proteins.
Carbohydrates attached to lipids (glycolipids) and to proteins (glycoproteins)
extend from the outward-facing surface of the membrane.
 The cell membrane or plasma membrane 7.5 to 10 nm thick elastic structure.
 The basic structure is lipid bilayer consist of phospholipids which are
amphiphilic or dual loving character
 The hydrophilic or water-loving areas of these molecules are in contact with
the aqueous fluid both inside and outside the cell.
 Hydrophobic, or water-hating molecules, tend to be non- polar.
 The phospholipid (lipid bilayer)
 Phospholipid
 sphingolipid
 cholesterol
 Integral and peripheral cell membrane proteins
 Membrane carbohydrates the “glycocalyx”
 A phospholipid molecule consists of a three-carbon glycerol backbone with
two fatty acid molecules attached to carbons 1 and 2, and a phosphate-
containing group attached to the third carbon.
This arrangement gives the overall molecule an area described as its head
(the phosphate-containing group), which has a polar character or negative
charge, and an area called the tail (the fatty acids), which has no charge.
They interact with other non-polar molecules in chemical reactions, but
generally do not interact with polar molecules.
This phospholipid molecule is composed of a hydrophilic head and two
hydrophobic tails. The hydrophilic head group consists of a phosphate-containing
group attached to a glycerol molecule. The hydrophobic tails, each containing
either a saturated or an unsaturated fatty acid, are long hydrocarbon chains.
 Globular masses floated on in the lipid bilayer they are glycoproteins.
 Two types of proteins integral proteins and peripheral proteins
 Many of the integral proteins provide channels or pores through which water
and water soluble materials diffuse through between ECF and ICF. Some are
carrier proteins for transporting substances . And peripheral molecules are
mainly enzymes or controllers that helps in transport of substance through cell
membrane .
 Carbohydrates occur in combination with protein and lipid glycoprotein and
glycolipids.
 Some carbohydrates are known as peptidoglycans loosely attached to the
outer surface of the cell known as glycocalyx.