One of the specialized parts of a protozoan or tissue cell; these subcellular units include mitochondria, the Golgi apparatus, nucleus and centrioles, granular and agranular endoplasmic reticulum, vacuoles, microsomes, lysosomes, plasma membrane, and certain fibrils, as well as plastids of plant cells. SYN: cell o., organoid (3). [G. organon, organ, + Fr. -elle, dim. suffix, fr. L. -ella]
- paired organelles SYN: rhoptry.
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or·gan·elle .ȯr-gə-'nel n a specialized cellular part (as a mitochondrion or ribosome) that is analogous to an organ
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n.
a structure within a cell that is specialized for a particular function. Examples of organelles are the nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, and mitochondria.
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or·ga·nelle (or″gə-nelґ) [L. organella, dim. of organum organ] any of the membrane-bound organized cytoplasmic structures of distinctive morphology, biochemical composition, and function present in all eukaryotic cells, including such structures as the nucleus, mitochondria, lysosomes, peroxisomes, Golgi apparatus, and endoplasmic reticulum, as well as chloroplasts in plants and cilia, flagella, and the cytopharynx in protozoa. See Plates 11 and 12.Medical dictionary. 2011.