Welcome. This convoluted structure right here? It's the basis of human life. We'd best take some applause for what's happening inside of us. Hey, it's in the hands we make applause with. Think about that, and bow down.
Cytoplasm
Nota:
The jelly-like substance substance where everything is.
Mitochondria
Nota:
The Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell!!!!!!!!
.... Just kidding, it converts energy from fuel (carbohydrates) to an usable form. The cell can't really survive without it.
The mitochondria kind of looks like a conch shell, with the inside of the "conch shell" being the matrix, where DNA, riosomes, and enzymes break down Carb products and release energy to be used later. Cristae, the inner membrane, is a larger surface area for all this biznizz' to happen.
Vacuoles
Nota:
Vacuoles are large, storage sacs that store substances.
Nucleus
Nota:
The Nucleus is really, really important. Really. It stores the genetic information of the cell that identifies what body cell would be what. In other words, it stores the DNA. The lil buddy in there, the nucleolus, it stores the Ribosomal RNA so it can send this information out to the ER.
Ribosomes
Nota:
These lil' darlings are like the taxis of the cell. They transport proteins and rRNA. They can be found either in the cytoplasm, the ER, the mitochondria, or the chloroplasts.
These lil things are important because they synthesize proteins to be transported on their merry way.
Endoplasmic Reticulum
Nota:
Woah! Hold that plate of noodles. Wait, that's the E.R. I'm funny. The E.R. is like the underground subway in Toronto: complicated. It is a convoluted system of saccules and vesicles that connect with the second layer of that nucleus.
Rough E.R.
Nota:
This place is like the factory of protein making, where things get further synthesized, processed, and modified. It has attached ribosomes, and the Rough E.R. generally gives the proteins a sugar chain, making a delicious baby called the, "glycoprotein"!
Smooth E.R.
Nota:
The difference between the Smooth E.R. and the Rough E.R. is that it plays smooth jazz -- actually, no, it doesn't. Sorry. Depending on the general cell function, the Smooth E.R. synthesizes phospholipids that occur in membranes and have various other functions. For example, in the testes, it produces testosterone. It also forms vesicles where proteins are stored in to be transported to the Golgi apparatus.
Golgi Apparatus
Nota:
The Golgi Apparatus does even more modification! When it receives the vesicles from the E.R., it modifies the proteins and sends it off to be either a secretory vesicle or a lysosome.
Lysosomes
Nota:
Lysosomes contain hydrolytic enzymes which digest macromoles from various sources. The enzymes are able to digest many molecules.
Secretory Vesicles
Plasma Membrane
Nota:
Here, in this magnificent place of places, the secretory vesicles. So, the Golgi Apparatus is maybe just a bit involved with the processing, packaging, and secretion.
Peroxisomes
Nota:
The enzymes in here are synthesized by free ribosomes and transported into it from the cytoplasm. The purpose of these enzymes depend on what this body cell is. They oxidize organic substances with hydrogen peroxide, breaking it down to water and oxygen with enzyme catalase.