Cell

How it is used

One of the most frequent words in physiology and histology. Cells are named by type (nerve cell, muscle cell, red blood cell) and described as dividing, differentiating or dying. The adjective is cellular.

Example sentences

1. Under the microscope, you can see that each cell has a dark-stained nucleus.

2. Skin cells are replaced constantly throughout life.

Common collocations

• cell division
• cell type
• nerve cell
• stem cell
• cellular

Related terms

• tissueA group of similar cells, together with the material around them, that work together to do one job. The four basic types are epithelial, connective, muscle and nervous tissue.
• nucleusThe control center of a cell, surrounded by its own membrane. It contains the DNA, which carries the instructions for making proteins and for cell division.
• cell membraneThe thin, flexible layer that surrounds every cell and controls what enters and leaves it. It is made mainly of a double layer of phospholipids with proteins set into it.
• mitochondrionA small structure inside the cell that uses oxygen to produce most of the cell's energy in the form of ATP. Cells that need a lot of energy, like muscle cells, have many of them.
• -cyteA word ending from Greek meaning 'cell'. It appears in erythrocyte (red blood cell), leukocyte (white blood cell), osteocyte (bone cell) and hepatocyte (liver cell).

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• cell · Biology

More terms: Cells, Tissues and Body Organization

• organ
• organ system
• epithelium
• connective tissue