Introduction to Cell Biology Flashcards
What does the prefix cyto and the suffix -cyte refer to?
Both mean a hollow vessel referring to cells
What is the term given to the study of cells?
Cytology
What is the process of a substance moving into a cell referred to as?
Endocytosis
What is the process of a substance moving out of a cell referred to as?
Exocytosis
What is the term given to cell chemistry?
Cytochemistry
What would a liver cell be referred to as?
A hepatocyte
Cells are small units bound by a…
Plasma membrane (or cell wall)
Cells contain an aqueous fluid called
cytosol
Cells contain chemicals in the
cytoplasm
Cells have structural support due to the
cytoskeleton
Cells have membrane bound
organelles
Where do cells sit on the spectrum of life?
Atom, molecule, organelle, CELL, tissues, organs, organ systems, organism
Cells are the smallest
living entity
Some organisms can be
unicellular
What is a prion?
The term “prion” is derived from proteinacious infectious particle and refers to the pathogen that causes mad cow disease
What is the the actual name for mad cow disease?
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
All living organisms have to harness
energy
All living organisms have to res…
Respire
All living organisms have to grow and
develop
All living organisms have to rep
reproduce
What is the theory of biogenesis
all life comes from pre-existing life
All living organisms have to respond to
stimuli
How do cells ‘eat’ and ‘drink’?
Eat - phagocytosis
Drink - pinocytosis
Cells can get larger, what is this termed?
Hypertrophy
Cells can divide/proliferate, what is this termed?
Hyperplasia
Hyperplasia can be associated with disease, give an example
Prostate hyperplasia
Muscle cells may undergo this process with exercise
Hypertrophy
There are 37 trillion cells in the human body, around how many different types are there?
210
Cell proliferation occurs in two ways
Mitosis and meiosis
What does somatic mean?
Of the body
What type of cells undergo mitosis?
Somatic/ non-germ cells
What type of cells undergo meiosis?
germ cells, e.g. sperm and oocyte
Give three examples of living entities responding to stimuli
cells can move by cytochemotaxis
phagocytic cells can ingest material
they can divide in response to mitogens
What is a mitogen?
A chemical substance, normally a protein that stimulates a cell to divide
In 1665 who coined the term cells to describe the boxes he saw in cork?
Robert Hooke
Who thought that cells only existed in plants and fungi?
Robert Hooke
Who invented 25 different hand-made microscopes?
Anton van Leeuwenhoek
in 1673 Anton van Leeuwenhoek observed microorganisms he termed animalcules in
pondwater
Who was first to observe red blood cells in vertebrates?
Anton van Leeuwenhoek
List some cells that Anton van Leeuwenhoek saw
Protozoans, bacteria, vacuole, spermatozoan, striated muscle fibres
Which scientist wrote 560 letters to the Royal Society?
Anton van Leeuwenhoek
Matthias Schleiden in 1838 concluded that
all plant parts are made of cells
In 1839, Theodor Schwann concluded that
all animal tissues are made of cells
Rudolf Virchow didn’t accept the theory of
Spontaneous generation
What theory did Rudolf Virchow conclude?
That all cells arise from preexisting cells - cell theory
What is the theory of spontaneous generation?
Spontaneous generation or anomalous generation is an obsolete body of thought on the ordinary formation of living organisms without descent from similar organisms.
In the 19th century, what was the theory about cells?
The cell theory
- all organisms consist of one or more cells (schleiden & schwann)
- the cell is the basic structural unit of all organisms (schleiden & schwann)
- all cells arise from preexisting cells (virchow)
What did Watson & Crick come up with and in what year?
The cell contains the hereditary information which is passed from cell to cell during cell division 1950
Modern cell biology is at cross roads between which three subjects?
Cytology, biochemistry and genetics
What really led to the development of the cell theory?
Microscopy
What are the five different types of light microscopy?
Brightfield Phase contrast Differential phase contrast Confocal Fluorescene
How does the unstained brightfield light microscopy technique work?
Passes light directly through the specimen
Unless cell is naturally pigmented or artificially stained the image has little contrast
How does the stained brightfield light microscopy technique work?
Passes light directly through specimens
Staining with various dyes enhances contrast but most require cells to be fixed
How does the phase contrast light microscopy technique work?
Enhances contrast in unstained cells by amplifying variations in refractive index within specimen
What is the phase contrast light microscopy useful in observing?
Living, unpigmented cells
How does differential phase contrast light microscopy work?
By using optical modifications to exaggerate differences in refractive index
How does the confocal light microscopy technique work?
Uses lasers to focus illuminating beam on a single plane within a specimen
Only regions within a narrow depth of focus are images
How does fluorescence microscopy work?
Shows the location of specific molecules in the cell
Fluorescence substances absorb UV radiation and emit visible light
May occur naturally or are made by tagging the molecules of interest with fluorescent dyes or antibodies
What are the subtypes of electron microscopy?
Scanning electron microscope
Transmission electron microscope
What is the maximum resolution of an electron microscope?
0.2nm
What is the maximum resolution of a light microscope?
200nm
What is the maximum resolution of the unaided eye?
200micrometres
In which three ways do cells differ?
Size
Shape/structure
Function
