CELL SPECIALIZATION

The maturing of a cell/ adaptations of a cell to perform specific

functions
 Typical Animal and Plant Cells

The human body has several organs and carryout several functions all at
the same time. Therefore the cells have adapted/specialized according to
their functions and will not appear as the typical cell that we have
studied.
Examples of specialized
cells within the human body.
The function of muscle cells is to cause movement.
In order to do this, they have ability to contract
(shorten) so they can pull on things. Energy is needed
for muscle cells to contract, so they contain lots of
mitochondria to release this energy via respiration.
Nerve Cells
Nerve cells carry electrical impulses around the body. To
do this efficiently they are long and thin, rather like
telephone wires, so that the information travels quickly over
a long distance. The axon is surrounded by a myelin sheath
which acts as electrical insulation, making sure that the
electrical impulses arrive at their destination without jumping
off and getting lost somewhere in the body. Often, electrical
impulses may need to be sent off to many parts of the body
at once, so nerve cells have dendrites which allow them to
communicate with other nerve cells.
Sperm Cells
Sperm cells have only one purpose: to fertilize an ovum. They have a tail for
swimming, and they are streamlined in shape to increase their speed.
Swimming requires a lot of energy, so in the middle piece of the sperm there
are many mitochondria to release this energy via respiration. When a sperm
arrives at the ovum it needs to be able to penetrate the ovum. For this reason it
has an acrosome in the head piece. The acrosome contains enzymes which
“eat” a hole in the membrane of the ovum so that the sperm can get in. Sperm
have only half the normal number of chromosomes so that when
fertilisation occurs there will be the correct number of chromosomes to make a
baby.
Egg Cell with extra food store to support the
fertilised egg
How are connective and epithelial cells adapted for
their functions?

Check the content on lesson 2.