organelle

Noun
  1. A specialized part of a cell;
    Analogous to an organ (synset 105453244)
    "the first organelle to be identified was the nucleus"
    is a type of: organ - a fully differentiated structural and functional unit in an animal that is specialized for some particular function
    subtypes:
    • cilium - a hairlike projection from the surface of a cell; provides locomotion in free-swimming unicellular organisms
    • lysosome - an organelle found in the cytoplasm of most cells (especially in leukocytes and liver and kidney cells)
    • cell nucleus, karyon, nucleus - a part of the cell containing DNA and RNA and responsible for growth and reproduction
    • nucleole, nucleolus - a small round body of protein in a cell nucleus; such organelles contain RNA and are involved in protein synthesis
    • chondriosome, mitochondrion - an organelle containing enzymes responsible for producing energy
    • centriole - one of a pair of small cylindrical cell organelles near the nucleus in animal cells; composed of nine triplet microtubules and form the asters during mitosis
    • ribosome - an organelle in the cytoplasm of a living cell; they attach to mRNA and move down it one codon at a time and then stop until tRNA brings the required amino acid; when it reaches a stop codon it falls apart and releases the completed protein molecule for use by the cell
    is a part of: cell - (biology) the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms; they may exist as independent units of life (as in monads) or may form colonies or tissues as in higher plants and animals
    same as: cell organ, cell organelle

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