The Function of Cells

Due to a question posted by one of our friends on our Facebook Page, it became imperative to shed more light on the work of the cell in the body. Understanding the cell and how it works is a very long and complex process but we’ll do our best to break it down.

When you look at yourself in the mirror, what you see is about 10trillion cells divided into 200 different types. Basic biology from high school defines a cell as “the structural and functional unit of life”. This means that:

(1) The structure of everything that has life (plants and animals) depends on the type of cells they possess. This is the reason why the shape of cells in animals is quite different from the shape of cells in plants.

(2) Every function of a living organism is made possible by its cells. That is, organisms will never be able to function properly without the help of cells. This sheds more light on why stroke patients cannot move a part or all parts of their body. The inactive part in stroke patients, that is, the part they cannot move/carry, contain inactive/dead cells! Thus, the normal function of those parts of the body cannot be accomplished anymore.

An Animal Cell. Source: scienceblogs.com

Every tissue and muscle in our body is composed of various type of cells. Let’s take a tissue for example - the blood. The blood consists of different cells which work hand-in-hand to carry out the various function of the blood. The cell components of the blood are:

(a) Red Blood Cells (Erythrocytes): After breathing in oxygen, RBC functions to carry the oxygen from the lungs to the tissues around the body with the help of a special protein called hemoglobin. RBC also helps to transport carbon dioxide from the tissues back to the lungs where they are breathed out. So a defective RBC will lead to complications in the transport of oxygen around the body and we know what that means…

(b) White Blood Cells (Leucocytes): The WBC helps to fight against diseases or foreign bodies that are harmful to the body. Without the help of the WBC, we will all be highly susceptible to diseases from time to time, that is, we’ll likely fall sick every day!

(c) The Platelets: These cells help in blood clotting. In case of harm or injury, a series of platelets-stimulated reactions occur at the site of injury which eventually leads to the coagulation of blood. Thus, the blood at the injury site clots.

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The blood is used here as just an example. All tissues in the body contain various types of cells that are vital to their function. The liver has liver cells(hepatocytes), the brain has its own brain cells, the enamel of our teeth to the lenses of our eyes all have their own cells which are very important to their various activities.

One important point we should mention about the function of cells is their involvement in the transfer of genetic traits from parents to offspring. Yes, this will be impossible without the existence of cells. Cells contain DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) which is found in the nucleus of every cell. The DNA helps determine who you are, your height, skin, eye, hair color among other things.

We must also remember that cells are vital in reproduction. The spermatozoan (sperm) and egg or ovum (ova plural) are known as the male and female reproductive cells respectively.

Cells perform a wide range of functions which might not be totally covered in this post but one thing is certain, without the existence of cells in your body, you wouldn’t be here right now reading this article.

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