1.
4 SPECIALISATION IN ANIMAL CELLS
Nerve cells:
-nerve cells are specialised to
carry electrical impulses
around the body
-they provide a rapid
connection system between
the body’s
Adaptations:
o lots of dendrites to make
connections to other
nerve cells
o an axon carries the nerve
impulses to another
o they have nerve endings/
synapse that are
adapted to pass the
impulses to another
cell. They contain lots
of mitochondria to
provide the energy
needed to make the
Muscle cells:
-they can contrast and relax in
pairs to move the bones of the
skeleton
-striated muscle cells work
together in tissues called
muscles
Adaptations:
o They contain special proteins
that slide over each other
making the fibres
contract
o Contains mitochondria to
transfer energy needed
for chemical reactions
that take place as muscles
cells contract and relax
o Can store glycogen
(chemical that can be
broken down and used in
cellular respiration by
mitochondria to transfer
SPERM CELLS
-usually released a long way from
the egg they are going to fertilise
-contain genetic information from
male parent
-sperm cells need to move through
water or the female reproductive
system to reach an egg (they have to
break into egg cell)
Adaptations:
o Long tail-whips from side to side
to help move sperm through
water or female reproductive
system
o Middle section full of
mitochondria- transfers energy
needed for tail to work
o Acrosomes stores digestive
enzymes for breaking outer
layers of egg
o Large nucleus- contains genetic