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Anatomy & Physiology vocabulary · Cells, Tissues and Body Organization

Nucleus

Meaning in anatomy & physiology, with examples

/ˈnuːkliəs/nounCommon term

In anatomy & physiology, nucleus means: The 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.

In Turkish: çekirdek, nükleus

How it is used

In histology, nuclei stain dark with hematoxylin, which helps to identify cell types. In neuroanatomy, a nucleus is also a cluster of nerve cell bodies inside the brain or brainstem, such as the caudate nucleus.

Example sentences

  1. Mature red blood cells have no nucleus.

  2. Skeletal muscle fibers contain many nuclei pushed to the edge of the cell.

Common collocations

  • cell nucleus
  • nuclear membrane
  • nuclei
  • nuclear DNA
  • cellThe smallest living unit of the body. Each cell has a membrane and cytoplasm, most also have a nucleus, and groups of similar cells form tissues.
  • 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.
  • red blood cellA disc-shaped blood cell that carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues using the protein hemoglobin. Mature red blood cells have no nucleus and live for about 120 days.

This word in other fields

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

More terms: Cells, Tissues and Body Organization

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.