The tonofilaments, keratin, desmin, neurofilaments, or other intermediate filaments serving to act as supportive cytoplasmic elements to stiffen cells or to organize intracellular organelles.
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cy·to·skel·e·ton .sīt-ō-'skel-ət-ən n the network of protein filaments and microtubules in the cytoplasm that controls cell shape, maintains intracellular organization, and is involved in cell movement
cy·to·skel·e·tal -əl adj
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cy·to·skel·e·ton (si″to-skelґə-tən) a three-dimensional cytoplasmic network of protein polymers (microfilaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules), occurring in eukaryotes, that supports and maintains the shape of the cell and provides motility (both of the whole cell and of organelles and vesicles within the cell). cytoskeletal adj
Cytoskeleton, shown in a color-enhanced electron micrograph. N, nucleus; arrowheads, intermediate filaments; arrows, microtubules.
Medical dictionary. 2011.