Site author Richard Steane
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The BioTopics website gives access to interactive resource material, developed to support the
learning and teaching of Biology at a variety of levels.
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Cell type | Specialisation | Function |
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lining cell (epithelium)
e.g. from inside cheek |
flattened shape
interlocking edges |
to fit together to make a
thin covering layer |
> red blood cell | > disc shaped | > to carry oxygen |
> white (blood) cell |
> can change shape |
> to attack invading microorganisms ("germs") |
> nerve cell (neuron) |
> long thin fibres |
> to conduct nervous impulses |
> muscle cell | > can contract (tighten) or relax |
> cause movement |
Cell type | Specialisation | Function |
---|---|---|
leaf palisade layer
(photosynthetic tissue) |
many chloroplasts - closely packed |
to make food by photosynthesis
(trapping the energy of sunlight) |
> stem (xylem is composed not of typical cells but vessel elements to be more precise) | > no end walls leaving hollow lumen (channel through middle) - also thick cell walls to withstand pressure |
> carry water |
> stem (phloem) | > vertical strands of cytoplasm |
> carry products of photosynthesis
("foods") |