

Each centriole is a cylinder of nine triplets of microtubules. It contains a pair of centrioles, two structures that lie perpendicular to each other. The centrosome is a region near the nucleus of animal cells that functions as a microtubule-organizing center. In cilia and flagella, the microtubules are organized as a circle of nine double microtubules on the outside and two microtubules in the center.


They are also the structural components of flagella and cilia. Microtubules guide organelle movement and are the structures that pull chromosomes to their poles during cell division. These are hollow tubes that can dissolve and reform quickly. Microtubules are the thickest of the cytoskeletal fibers. Keratin, the compound that strengthens hair and nails, forms one type of intermediate filament. Intermediate filaments are of intermediate diameter and have structural functions, such as maintaining the shape of the cell and anchoring organelles. These components are also common in muscle cells and are responsible for muscle cell contraction. They also maintain the structure of microvilli, the extensive folding of the plasma membrane found in cells dedicated to absorption. Microfilaments are the thinnest of the cytoskeletal fibers and function in moving cellular components, for example, during cell division. Microfilaments, intermediate filaments, and microtubules compose a cell’s cytoskeleton. In addition, we have included books in Spanish and Portuguese, so that you have the opportunity to read books on Cell Biology in these languages.įinally, we consider it important to point out that these publications have been made available for free distribution, or belong to the public domain.Figure 1. Cellular processes of development, among many others.Adhesions and junctions between the extracellular matrix and cells.The origin of this discipline is to be found in two different disciplines: histology and cytology.Ĭell Biology also studies the organisms that are housed in cells such as viruses, proviruses, bacteria, among others which possess DNA from current infections and those of our ancestors, collaborating with the development of cures for diseases.Īmong the topics covered by Cell Biology we can mention the following:

The concept of Cell Biology is more or less modern, and is defined as the study of the life of cells. With the idea of allowing you to have easy and free access to this compendium of publications, we have chosen all of them in PDF format. A selection of free books on a subject as important and enlightening as Cell Biology, is the gift that we want to give you today.
