1. Cell Organelles By: Jamie Kaplan And Terry Zhou

11. Lysosomes Lysosomes are organelles containing digestive enzymes. They use these enzymes to get rid of unneeded food, engulfed viruses, and old, unneeded organelles, etc. They are membrane-bound, to prevent them from accidentally digesting the cell itself.

12. Chloroplasts Chloroplasts are plastids that supply a plant’s energy. They do this by combining absorbed sunlight with carbon dioxide and water, creating sugar. They are organelles unique to plants and eukaryotic organisms such as algae and certain bacteria.

13. Mitochondria Mitochondria are very vital organelles that transform energy within a cell. They are the source of most of the cell’s energy, and while from the outside seem rather simple, their insides are a mass of folds. Here we see a simplified model. Mitochondria in cells can vary in number from one to thousands. They are also unique in the fact that they have their own DNA, which resembles that of a bacteria.

14. Cytoskeleton The cytoskeleton is a network of microtubules and microfilaments, made of protein, and found in eukaryotic cells, as well as some prokaryotic ones. While not pointed out that often, it is vital to the cell for all the functions it performs. Not only does it support the cell and protect it to a certain extent, it facilitates cell movement both inside and outside the cell, utilizing cilia and flagella for outward movement and transporting materials throughout the cell.

15. Microtubules Microtubules are hollow protein tubes that are part of the structure of the cytoskeleton. They assist in many forms of cell movement and replication.

17. Microfilaments Microfilaments are thinner than microtubules, but serve much the same purposes. Like microtubules, they are sometimes made of keratin (the material that makes up your fingernails), and they serve purposes in various aforementioned cell functions. They are found just below the cell membrane, and are the main shock absorbers.

18. Centrioles Centrioles are barrelish organelles found in pairs, which duplicate when the cell splits. The older centriole, or the mother centriole, creates flagella and cilia.

19. Cilia Cilia have two main purpose. Some cilia are used for locomotion, while others are used as sensory organs, like bug antennae.

20. Flagella Flagella are longer and much less numerous than cilia, but serve much the same purpose. Most eukaryotic cells have only one or two, while prokaryotes and bacteria can have many more, and use them to move about.

21. Plastids Plastids are very variable organelles found in plant cells. Their main purposes are to store and create substance, and to initiate photosynthesis. They range from… … chloroplasts, found in many plants as a green pigment… … to statoliths, which detect gravity.