Cells are one of the most basic structures required for the formation of a human body to occur, just like for the body of any living thing in the world. They are organisms with a much more complex structure and that work organized by different levels within their biological organization, starting mainly with cells as they are all those units responsible for the organization of tissues; once these are structured, they fulfill a series of functions within the body, such as being part of the nervous system, helping to connect other parts of it, such as muscles, among other things.
Then they form another class of structures with greater importance such as organs, which fulfill functions that are so fundamental that they allow the entire system to survive. An example of all these structures are the lungs, the kidneys and of course the heart.
For all these things, as organisms belonging to this living planet, it is necessary to know about what a cell is – Definition, Meaning and Concept, since it is from this small unit that larger and more important structures are formed that are found within. of the body of every living being.
The word cell is a term that came into use due to a discovery that was made using a microscope. This is a piece of equipment that was able to show that when a fairly thin cut was made in a piece of cork, it was possible to observe some species of cells that later received the name of cells.
The person responsible for making a discovery like this was Robert Hooke, who at the time had found cells but they were already dead. Some time later, the Italian biologist who was also an anatomist, Marcelo Malpighi, had the opportunity to see cells that were alive, but added to that, he was the first person to have the possibility of studying completely living tissues using a microscope.
Using equipment such as the microscope has been essential for the various studies about cells to be carried out. Well, it is because of all the advances that technology has made in their manufacture that the human being has been able to have a better understanding of how they work and of all the questions that are related to cells.
Cell biology is a subject that is specifically responsible for studying everything related to cells, along with the work done using microbiology. As it is possible to understand how cells work, it is possible to elaborate models to give an explanation in much more detail, since it is through these that a better classification of the various elements that make up a cell can be had, in order to classify all of them. the functions that it performs as well as to classify the cells keeping in mind a series of aspects.
Instructions
- Cells are known as the indispensable unit of a living being that has all the matter required for vital procedures to occur, such as nutrition, growth, and reproduction.
- According to biological studies, cells can be classified into two huge groups. In the first place we have eukaryotic cells, which are all those that have a cell nucleus. And then we have prokaryotic cells, which are all those that do not have a cell nucleus.
- Likewise, if the number of cells that make up a living being is taken into account, an organism can be classified in two ways. First we have organisms that are unicellular, which, as their name indicates, are those that are made up of only one cell, as in the case of protozoa or bacteria. And then there are the organisms that are multicellular, which unlike the previous ones, these have a large number of cells, such as plants or animals.
- Following the biological definitions, cells fulfill a series of functions that are vital for an organism, but three can be established as the main ones among all of these. The function of relating, which is what makes a living being able to link with its environment and with the responses it generates in front of it. The function of reproducing, that all the procedure that is required for the formation of new cells to occur starting from one as its initial, which is also known by the name of stem cell, through cell division that can either be meiosis or mitosis, taking into account what kind of cell it is and also the stage of the life cycle in which it is found. And the function of nourishing itself, which is the fact of incorporating, transforming and assimilating food so that said cell can form its own matter.
- Based on the classification of cells, the parts of it can be different although it is mainly made up of three components. The plasmatic membrane that in the case of plant cells is the cell wall and in animal cells it is the cell membrane. The cytoplasm, which is a kind of liquid found inside the cytosol, where there are other characteristic elements of a cell such as DNA, ribosomes, mitochondria, among others. And the cell nucleus that is surrounded by the cytoplasm.
Tips
Cells can also be classified based on the natural kingdom to which they belong. So they can be animal cells, a class of eukaryotic cell that is responsible for constituting the various tissues that an animal possesses; and plant cells, which is a class of eukaryotic cell that makes up the structure of plant organisms, which also has some particular elements such as the vacuole where water is stored and transported, waste as well as nutrients, or such as plastids that are responsible for the synthesis of food and chloroplasts.
And if we take into account the function that cells perform, they can be stem cells and somatic cells. That the latter are in charge of carrying out the growth of each tissue and each organ in a living being, as in the case of the tissues that make up the skin, those that make up the bones and any other. Likewise, a somatic cell that has mutated may be considered the cause of some type of cancer, especially when it comes to cancer that affects the tissues of the colon.
On the other hand, the word cell can also refer to a kind of cell, hole or cavity, such as the cell of a monastery, for example. Although it can also be a group of people who have independent functions in some political, social or even religious organization.
Another name for cells are photovoltaic or photoelectric cells, which are those that can be found inside some electronic equipment, and that also have the ability to transform light energy into what we know as electrical energy, through the photoelectric effect.