Cellular Function

Question 1

Cell Differentiation

Answer 1

Process cells undergo to become specialized.

Cells with highly developed function, often lack other properties.

Example: cell function: movement → cell will lack hormone production function

• Cells with a similar embryonic origin or function are often organized into larger functional units called tissues,
• and these tissues in turn associate with other, dissimilar tissues to form the various organs of the body.

Question 2

How many chief cellular functions exist?

Answer 2

8 Chief Cellular Functions

1. Movement
2. Conductivity
3. Metabolic absorption
4. Secretion
5. Excretion
6. Respiration
7. Reproduction
8. Communication

Question 3

Cell Function Movement

Answer 3

• Muscle cells generate forces producing motion
• Attached to bones → limb motion
• In hollow tubes → move/empty content when contracted

Example: smooth muscle cells surrounding blood vessels → change diameter of vessel

contraction of muscle wall in bladder → expel urine

Question 4

Cell Function Conductivity

Answer 4

• Nerve Cells (chief function)
• Manifested as wave of excitation as a response to a stimulus
• Electrical potential that passes along surface of cell to reach it’s other parts

Question 5

Cell Function Metabolic Absorption

Answer 5

• Intestine / Kidney (chief cell function)
• All cells take in and use nutrients from their surroundings

Example:

• Kidney tubules reabsorb fluid and synthesize proteins.
• Intestinal epithelial cells reabsorb fluids & synthesize protein enzymes.

Question 6

Cell Function Secretion

Answer 6

• Adrenal gland / Testis / Ovaries → hormonal steroids
• Mucous gland cells → absorb substances then synthesized into new substance to serve as needed elsewhere.

Question 7

Cell Function Excretion

Answer 7

• All cells can rid themselves of waste products
• Waste products are results of metabolic break down of nutrients
• Lysosomes (membrane bround sacs) contain enzymes that break down, digest large molecules
• Waste is released from the cell

Question 8

Cell Function Respiration

Answer 8

• Cells absorb O2
• O2 used to transform nutrients into ATP
• Cellular Respiration or Oxidation occurs in the mitochondria

Question 9

Cellular Function Reproduction

Answer 9

• Tissue growth occurs as cells enlarge and reproduce themselves
• Tissue maintenance requires new cells be produced to replace cells lost through cellular death
• Not all cells are capable fo continuous division

Question 10

Cellular Function Communication

(book info)

Answer 10

Vital for cells to survive.

Constant communication allows for dynamic steady state.

Example: Pancreatic cells secrete insulin necessary to signal muscle cells to absorb sugar from blood for energy.

Question 11

Discuss Epithelial Tissue

Answer 11

• Epithelial tissue forms sheets that:
  
  • cover the body’s outer surface,
  • line internal surfaces, and
  • form glandular tissue.
• It is supported by
  
  • a basement membrane,
  • is avascular, and
  • must receive nourishment from capillaries in supporting connective tissues.

Question 12

Discuss Connective Tissue

Answer 12

• Connective tissue is the most abundant tissue of the body.
• Found in a variety of forms:
  
  • ranging from solid bone to
  • blood cells that circulate in the vascular system.

Question 13

Discuss Muscle Tissue

Answer 13

• Muscle tissue contains actin and myosin filaments that allow it to contract and provide locomotion and movement of:
  
  • skeletal structures (skeletal muscle),
  • pumping of blood through the heart (cardiac muscle),
  • and contraction of blood vessels and visceral organs (smooth muscle).

Question 14

Discuss Nervous Tissue

Answer 14

• Consists of two cell types
• nerve cells or neurons and
• glial or supporting cells,

Distributed throughout the body, and serves as the body’s communication system.

The nervous system is divided anatomically into:

• CNS
  
  • brain and
  • spinal cord
• Peripheral nervous system (PNS),
  
  • nerve tissue outside the CNS.