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Biology vocabulary · Cells and Levels of Organization

Cytoplasm

Meaning in biology, with examples

/ˈsaɪtəˌplæzəm/nounCore term

In biology, cytoplasm means: Everything inside the cell membrane apart from the nucleus: a jelly-like fluid called the cytosol together with the organelles suspended in it.

In Turkish: sitoplazma

How it is used

Used when describing where a process happens: glycolysis takes place in the cytoplasm, while transcription in eukaryotes happens in the nucleus. Researchers use the more precise word cytosol for the fluid alone. The adjective is cytoplasmic.

Example sentences

  1. In bacteria, the DNA lies in the cytoplasm rather than inside a nucleus.

  2. The fluorescent protein spread through the cytoplasm but did not enter the nucleus.

Common collocations

  • in the cytoplasm
  • cytoplasmic protein
  • cytoplasmic streaming
  • cytosol
  • cellThe smallest unit of life that can survive on its own. Every living thing is made of one or more cells, and each cell is surrounded by a membrane.
  • organelleA small structure inside a cell that has a specific job, such as the nucleus, mitochondria or chloroplasts. Most organelles are surrounded by their own membrane.
  • nucleusThe large structure in a eukaryotic cell that holds most of its DNA and controls the cell's activities. It is surrounded by a double membrane called the nuclear envelope.
  • cell membraneThe thin, flexible layer that surrounds every cell and controls what enters and leaves it. It is built mainly from a double layer of phospholipids with proteins set into it.
  • ribosomeA small structure made of RNA and protein that builds proteins by reading the instructions in messenger RNA. Ribosomes are found in all cells.

More terms: Cells and Levels of Organization

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