ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

CELL STRUCTURE AND THEIR FUNCTION

CELL STRUCTURE
Organelles:
o specialized structures in cells that perform
o specific functions
o Example: nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes Cytoplasm:
o jelly-like substance that holds organelles
Cell membrane:
o also termed the plasma membrane
o a structure that encloses the cytoplasm

FUNCTION OF THE CELL

• Smallest units of life
• Cell metabolism and energy use
• Synthesis of molecules
• Communication
• Reproduction and inheritance

CELL MEMBRANE
-is the outermost component of a cell
-forms a boundary between material in inside the cell and the outside
-materials inside the cell are intracellular and those outside are extracellular
-acts as a selective barrier

CELL MEMBRANE STRUCTURE

-fluid-mosaic model is the model used to describe the cell membrane structure
-The membrane contains phospholipids, cholesterol, proteins, and carbohydrates.
-Phospholipids form a bilayer.
-Phospholipids contain 2 regions: polar and nonpolar.

PHOSPHOLIPIDS STRUCTURES
-phospholipid molecule has a polar head region that is hydrophilic and a nonpolar tail region that is
hydrophobic.
-The polar region is exposed to water around the membrane.
-The nonpolar region is facing the interior of the membrane.

MOVEMENT THROUGH THE CELL MEMBRANE

-The cell membrane has selective permeability, which allows only certain substances to pass in and out of the
cell.
-Substances such as enzymes, glycogen, and potassium are found in higher concentrations inside the cell.
-Substances such as sodium, calcium, and chloride are found in higher concentrations outside the cell.

CELL MEMBRANE PASSAGE

-Some substances, like O2 and CO2, can pass
directly through the cell membrane’s phospholipid bilayer.
-Some substances must pass through transmembrane protein channels, such as Na+ through its channels.
-The route of transport through the membrane depends on the size, shape, and charge of the substance.

CELL MEMBRANE PASSAGE

-Some substances require carrier molecules to transport them across the cell membrane, such as glucose.
 -Some substances require a vesicular transport across the membrane.
The vesicle must fuse with the cell membrane for transport.

ACTIVE TRANSPORT and PASSIVE TRANSPORT

-Passive membrane transport does not require the cell to expend energy. It includes include diffusion, osmosis,
and facilitated diffusion.
-Active membrane transport does require the cell to expend energy, usually in the form of ATP. It includes
active transport, secondary active transport, endocytosis, and exocytosis.

DIFFUSION
-involves movement of substances in a solution down a concentration gradient.
- movement from high concentration to a low concentration
-A solution is generally composed of two major parts, solutes and the solvent.
-Solutes are substances dissolved in a predominant liquid or gas, which is called the solvent.
-Solutes, such as ions or molecules, tend to move from an area of higher concentration of a solute to an area
of lower concentration of that same solute in solution.

CONCENTRATION GRADIENTS
- difference in the concentration of a solute in a solvent between two points divided by the distance between
the two points.
- said to be steeper when the concentration difference is large and/or the distance is small.

LEAK and GATED CHANNELS

-Leak channels constantly allow ions to pass through.
-Gated channels limit the movement of ions across the membrane by opening and closing.

OSMOSIS
-diffusion of water (a solvent) across a selectively permeable membrane from a region of higher water
concentration to one of lower water concentration.
-Osmosis exerts a pressure, termed osmotic pressure, which is the force required to prevent movement of
water across cell membrane

OSMOTIC PRESSURE and the CELL

-Osmotic pressure depends on the difference of solution concentrations inside a cell relative to outside the
cell.
-A cell may be placed in solutions that are either hypotonic, isotonic, or hypertonic compared to the cell
cytoplasm.

HYPOTONIC
-has a lower concentration of solutes and a higher concentration of water relative to the cytoplasm of the cell.
-the solution has less tone, or osmotic pressure, than the cell.
-swell the cell
-if the cell swells enough, it can rupture, a process called lysis.

ISOTONIC
-has the same solute concentrations inside and outside the cell.
-shrink nor swell the cell.
-equal

HYPERTONIC
-has a lower solute concentration and higher water concentration than the surrounding solution.
-shrinkage or crenation of the cell.

PISO- Potassium Inside, Sodium Out

CARRIER-MEDIATED TRANSPORT
-Some water-soluble, electrically charged or large sized particles cannot enter or leave through the cell
membrane by diffusion.
-These substances include amino acids, glucose, and some polar molecules produced by the cell.
-Carrier molecules are proteins within the cell membrane involved in carrier-mediated transport.

CARRIER-MEDIATED TRANSPORT
-Carrier-mediated transport mechanisms include facilitated diffusion and Active transport.
-Facilitated diffusion does not require ATP for energy.
-Active transport does require ATP for transport.

FACILITATED DIFFUSION
-a carrier-mediated transport process that moves substances across the cell membrane from an area of higher
concentration to an area of lower concentration of that substance.
-metabolic energy in the form of ATP is not required.

ACTIVE TRANSPORT
-requiring ATP, that moves substances across the cell membrane from regions of lower concentration to those
of higher concentration against a concentration gradient.
-accumulate necessary substances on one side of the cell membrane at concentrations many times greater
than those on the other side.
-sodium-potassium pump is a major example of active transport is the action of the sodium-potassium pump
present in cell membranes.
-sodium-potassium pump moves Na+ out of cells and K+ into cells. The result is a higher concentration of Na+
outside cells and a higher concentration of K+ inside cells.

SECONDARY ACTIVE TRANSPORT

-uses the energy provided by a concentration gradient established by the active transport of one substance,
such as Na+ to transport other substances.
-no additional energy is required
-cotransport, the diffusing substance moves in the same direction as the initial active transported substance.
-countertransport, the diffusing substance moves in a direction opposite to that of the initial active
transported substance.

ENDOCYTOSIS
-process that that brings materials into cell using vesicles.
-moving outside the cell

Receptor-mediated endocytosis
-occurs when a specific substance binds to the receptor molecule and is transported into the cell.
Phagocytosis
-used for endocytosis when solid particles are ingested.
Pinocytosis
-much smaller vesicles formed, and they contain liquid rather than solid particles.
Secretory Vesicles
-accumulate materials for release from the cell.

GENERAL CELL STRUCTURE

o CYTOPLASM- jelly-like fluid that surrounds the organelles.

o ORGANELLES- specialized structures that perform certain functions.

o CELL NUCLEUS- large organelle usually located near the center of the cell.
 -bounded by a nuclear envelope, which consists of outer and inner membranes with a narrow space between
them.
-has 23 pairs of chromosomes
-nucleoli found in DNA

o RIBOSOMES- produced in the nucleolus.

-responsible for protein synthesis
-may be attached to other organelles, such as the endoplasmic reticulum.
-free ribosomes are not attached to any other organelle.

o ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM- series of membranes forming sacs and tubules that extends from the
outer nuclear membrane into the cytoplasm.

o ROUGH ER- involved in protein synthesis and is rough due to attached ribosomes.

o SMOOTH ER- has no attached ribosomes and is a site for lipid synthesis, cellular detoxification, and it
stores calcium ions in skeletal muscle cells.

o GOLGI APPARATUS- consists of closely packed stacks of curved, membrane-bound sacs.

-It collects, modifies, packages, and distributes proteins and lipids manufactured by the ER.
-forms vesicles, some of which are secretory vesicles, lysosomes, and other vesicles.

o LYSOSOMES- membrane-bound vesicles formed from the Golgi apparatus.

-contain a variety of enzymes that function as intracellular digestive systems.

o PEROXISOMES- small, membrane-bound vesicles containing enzymes that break down fatty acids,
amino acids, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).
-Hydrogen peroxide is a by-product of fatty acid and amino acid breakdown and can be toxic to a cell.
-enzymes in peroxisomes break down hydrogen.

o MITOCHONDRIA- small organelles responsible for producing considerable amounts of ATP by aerobic
(with O2) metabolism.
-have inner and outer membranes separated by a space.
-outer membranes have a smooth contour, but the inner membranes have numerous folds, called cristae,
which project into the interior of the mitochondria.

o CYTOSKELETON- gives internal framework to the cell. It consists of protein structures that support the
cell, hold organelles in place, and enable the cell to change shape.
-These protein structures are microtubules, microfilaments, and intermediate filaments.

o MICROTUBULES- hollow structures formed from protein subunits.

-support such as cilia and flagella

o MICROFILAMENTS- small fibrils formed from protein subunits that structurally support the cytoplasm,
determining cell shape.
-provide movement of the cell
-Microfilaments in muscle cells enable the cells to shorten, or contract.

o INTERMEDIATE FILAMENTS- fibrils formed from protein subunits that are smaller in diameter than
microtubules but larger in diameter than microfilaments.
-provide mechanical support to the cell.

o CENTRIOLES- specialized area of cytoplasm close to the nucleus where microtubule formation occurs.
-contains two centrioles
-it is small
 -involve mitosis process

o CILIA- project from the surface of certain cells.

-responsible for the movement of materials over the top of cells, such as mucus.
-composed of microtubules.

o MICROVILLI- specialized extensions of the cell membrane that are supported by microfilaments.
-do not actively move as cilia and flagella do.

o WHOLE CELL ACTIVITY- cell’s characteristics are determine by the type of proteins produced. The
proteins produced are in turn determined by the genetic information in the nucleus. Information in
DNA provides the cell with a code for its cellular processes.

DNA
-contains the information that directs protein synthesis; a process called gene expression.
-consists of nucleotides joined together to form two nucleotide strands.
-two strands are connected and resemble a ladder that is twisted around its long axis.
-each nucleotide consists of a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.
-each nucleotide on one DNA strand has a specific bonding pattern to another nucleotide on the opposite
strand.
-gene is a sequence of nucleotides that provides a chemical set of instructions for making a specific protein.

GENE EXPRESSION
-which is protein synthesis, involves transcription and translation.

TRANSCRIPTION
-involves copying DNA into messenger RNA.
-takes place in the nucleus of the cell.
-DNA determines the structure of mRNA through transcription.
-DNA contains one of the following organic bases: thymine, adenine, cytosine, or guanine.

TRANSLATION
-involves messenger RNA being used to produce a protein.
-occurs in the cell cytoplasm after mRNA has exited the nucleus through the nuclear pores.
-mRNA attaches to a ribosome.
-Codons (3 nucleotide bases) on the mRNA are read by anticodons (3 nucleotide bases) on transfer RNA
(tRNA).

THE CELL CYCLE

-During growth and development, cell division occurs to increase the number of cells or replace damaged or
dying ones.
-This cell division involves a cell cycle.
-The cell cycle includes two major phases: a nondividing phase, called interphase, and a cell dividing phase,
termed mitosis.
-Replication of DNA gives two identical chromatids joined at a centromere; both form one chromosome.

CELL GENETIC CONTENT

-23 pairs of chromosomes

MITOSIS
-involves formation of 2 daughter cells from a single parent cell.
-divided into four phases: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase.

PROPHASE
 -during, the chromatin condenses to form visible chromosomes.
-the nuclear membrane dissolves.

METAPHASE
-during, the chromosomes align near the center of the cell.
-the movement of the chromosomes is regulated by the attached spindle fibers.

ANAPHASE
-beginning, the chromatids separate and each chromatid is called a chromosome.
-end, each set of chromosomes has reached an opposite pole of the cell, and the cytoplasm begins to divide.

TELOPHASE
-during, the chromosomes in each of the daughter cells become organized to form two separate nuclei, one
in each newly formed daughter cell.
-following telophase, cytoplasm division is completed, and two separate daughter cells are produced.

DIFFERENTIATION
-process by which cells develop with specialized structures and functions.
-a sperm cell and an oocyte unite to form a single cell, then a great number of mitotic divisions occur to give
the trillions of cells of the body.
-during, some portions of DNA are active, but others are inactive.

APOPTOSIS
-termed programmed cell death, is a normal process by which cell numbers within various tissues are
adjusted and controlled.
-developing fetus, apoptosis removes extra tissue, such as cells between the developing fingers and toes.
-adult tissues, apoptosis eliminates excess cells to maintain a constant number of cells within the tissue.

CELLULAR ASPECTS OF AGING

There are various causes for cellular aging:
Existence of a cellular clock
Presence of death genes
DNA damage
Formation of free radicals
Mitochondrial damage

TUMORS
-abnormal proliferations of cells.
-they are due to problems occurring in the cell cycle.
-some tumors are benign and some are malignant (cancer).
-Malignant tumors can spread by a process, termed metastasis.