The Golgi Apparatus in Animals and How it Functions in Eukaryotic Cells

The Golgi apparatus is an organelle that is found in most eukaryotic cells, and the Golgi Apparatus is, also, known as Golgi Complex, Golgi body, and just plain Golgi. The Golgi Apparatus plays an important role in the life of every cell, but only in eukaryotic cells. There are two types of cells: Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic cells, which have some distinct differences. Eukaryotic cells have a "true nucleus", and Prokaryotic cells do not. Eukaryotic cells have organelles, and Prokaryotic cells do not. Eukaryotic cells are multi-cellular that exist in plants, animals, and humans. Prokaryotic cells are single celled organisms, such as bacteria and algae. The ways that Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic cells are the same are: they both have plasma membranes, cytoplasm, ribosomes, and proteins (large molecules that are essential to all living cells). Life would not be what we know it without the existence of ribosomes-life would cease to exist. Ribosomes play an extremely important role in the lives of all living cells.

The Golgi Apparatus was named after Camillo Golgi, an Italian scientist, who discovered it in the late 19th Century. The Golgi apparatus is one of the largest of the organelles, which made it easier to discover.

1. Nucleolus 2. Nucleus, 3. Ribosomes, 4. Vesicle, 5. Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum, 6. Glogi Apparatus, 7. Cytoskeleton, 8. Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum, 9. Mitochrondion, 10. Vacuole, 11. Cytosol, 12. Lysosome, 13. Centriole

The Golgi apparatus or Golgi has been described as being like a Post Office or even a large company. The proteins it modifies, improves, sorts and packages are received from the Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum, where the proteins are made. The Golgi packages the modified proteins in vesicles, may store them for later use, send them to other designated locations outside the cell, or use the proteins for the cell's own use. The newly packaged proteins are tagged or labelled, so that they can go to their right destination. The Golgi apparatus looks like a stack of pancakes, one layer upon another, and is in a semi-circle. One one end of the semi-circle is the receiving end and the other end is the shipping end. The Golgi Apparatus tags and labels its packages just like a Post Office, and then ships them out to designated locations.

The Golgi apparatus is not the only part of the cell. The other parts are the: cystol, Nucleus, Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum, Ribosomes, Mitochondria, Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum, lysosomes, and the cytoskeleton. The cystol is made up of water and non-living components, and it is fluid. The nucleus is the brain of the cell, and contains the DNA. The Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum or RER, is grainy in appearance and is speckled with Ribosomes on its surface, which makes it appear rough. The Golgi Apparatus has large and small vesicles surrounding it. The modified proteins are carried inside of these vesicles for storage or transport outside of the cell to other locations. The Ribosomes are on the surface of the RER and they make proteins. The Mitochondria is the power house of the cell, and has its own DNA, The Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum or SER is an extension of the Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum, and has a smooth surface. The liver has a large amount of Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum. The liver neutralizes toxins. If the DNA is damaged in the Nucleus of a cell, it can cause the cells to mutate, and make bad copies of themselves, and cancer may develop. Lysosomes are organelles that have digestive enzymes to break down food and waste in the cell. The cytoskeleton gives cells structure much like the human skeleton gives people structure. The cytoskeleton is flexible, so that the cell and parts of it can move about within the cell, itself. The nucleus is not fixed in the center of the cell, as it has the ability to move about.