organelle (redirected from Organelles)

or·gan·elle  (ôrg-nl)

n.

A differentiated structure within a cell, such as a mitochondrion, vacuole, or chloroplast, that performs a specific function.

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[New Latin organella, diminutive of Medieval Latin organum, organ of the body, from Latin, implement, tool; see organ.]

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organelle  (ôrg-nl)

A structure or part that is enclosed within its own membrane inside a cell and has a particular function. Organelles are found only in eukaryotic cells and are absent from the cells of prokaryotes such as bacteria. The nucleus, the mitochondrion, the chloroplast, the Golgi apparatus, the lysosome, and the endoplasmic reticulum are all examples of organelles. Some organelles, such as mitochondria and chloroplasts, have their own genome (genetic material) separate from that found in the nucleus of the cell. Such organelles are thought to have their evolutionary origin in symbiotic bacteria or other organisms that have become a permanent part of the cell.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

organelle - a specialized part of a cell; analogous to an organ; "the first organelle to be identified was the nucleus" cell organ, cell organelle cell - (biology) the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms; they may exist as independent units of life (as in monads) or may form colonies or tissues as in higher plants and animals cilium - a hairlike projection from the surface of a cell; provides locomotion in free-swimming unicellular organisms organ - a fully differentiated structural and functional unit in an animal that is specialized for some particular function lysosome - an organelle found in the cytoplasm of most cells (especially in leukocytes and liver and kidney cells) cell nucleus, karyon, nucleus - a part of the cell containing DNA and RNA and responsible for growth and reproduction nucleole, nucleolus - a small round body of protein in a cell nucleus; such organelles contain RNA and are involved in protein synthesis chondriosome, mitochondrion - an organelle containing enzymes responsible for producing energy centriole - one of a pair of small cylindrical cell organelles near the nucleus in animal cells; composed of nine triplet microtubules and form the asters during mitosis ribosome - an organelle in the cytoplasm of a living cell; they attach to mRNA and move down it one codon at a time and then stop until tRNA brings the required amino acid; when it reaches a stop codon it falls apart and releases the completed protein molecule for use by the cell; "the ribosome is the site of protein synthesis"