Why are cells shaped the way
they are?
# 1 Cheek Cells
• These cells were gently scraped from the inner
surface of a person’s cheek, and placed on a
microscope slide. The cheek lining cells are
thin and flat.
They fit together like tiles on a floor, except that
they overlap slightly. Because they are thin and
flat and several layers thick these cells make the
lining of the cheek smooth, flexible, and strong.
The large dark spot in the center of each cell is the
nucleus.
# 1 Cheek Cells
• Draw what you
see
• Label: the
nucleus
1) Why are the
cheek cells thin
and flat?
2)Why do you
think they need to
fit together like
tiles?
# 2 Blood Cells
• The most numerous cells
are red blood cells that
look like doughnuts. They
are flat disks, thinner in
the middle than the edge,
so it is light in the middle
and darker on the edge.
A red blood cell has no
nucleus. It carries oxygen
and carbon dioxide to and
from body cells.
# 2 Blood Cells
The white blood cells (A and
B) are larger and have a
nuclei. White blood cells
help fight disease by
removing foreign particles.
#2 Blood Cells
• Draw what you see
• Label: White blood
cells and Red blood
cells
1)What is the function
of red blood cells?
2) Why are the red
blood cells shaped like
donuts? (Think of
where they travel and
what they carry in the
center!)
A
B
# 4 Bone Cells
• This is a very thin slice of bone, a living tissue.
The two dark spots marked A are bone cells.
There is a chemical that hardens in the space
between cells.
# 4 Bone Cells
an you see many fine dark lines connecting each
of the bone cells? Scientists believe these are
canals that help chemicals go from cell to cell in
the bones.
C
# 4 Bone Cells
The dark area (B) is a cross section of a tube.
Blood vessels and nerves running through this
tube bring food and oxygen to the bone cells.
# 4 Bone Cells
• Draw what you
see
• Label: Bone Cell
and Nerves/Blood
Vessels
1) Why do the bone
cells look so rigid
and strong?
2)Why are blood
cells so close to the
bone cells? What do
they help with?
A
A
B
# 5 Voluntary Muscle Cells
• The long, spotted,
ribbon-like shapes
in this slide are
voluntary muscle
cell like in your
arms and legs.
These cells are
very long.
# 5 Voluntary Muscle Cells
Muscle cells contain
many long fibers
which can shorten and
pull with great force.
Many movements are
caused by the
contracting.
Voluntary means
under your control.
# 5 Voluntary Muscle Cells
At “A” you can see
the nucleus.
Because of their
striped appearance,
they are called
striated. About 40%
of the average
person’s weight
consist of voluntary
muscle.
A
# 5 Voluntary Muscle Cells
• Draw what you
see
• Label: Nucleus
1) Why are
voluntary
muscle cells so
long? What do
they do?
A
# 6 Involuntary Muscle Cells
• This slide is made
from a piece of the
stomach wall. At “A”
you can see a single
voluntary muscle cell
clearly with nucleus.
Notice how much
shorter the
involuntary muscle is
than the voluntary
muscle
A
# 6 Involuntary Muscle Cells
Involuntary muscle is
locate in the walls of the
esophagus, stomach, and
intestines. They are
involuntary because they
contract automatically
without you thinking
about it. They are not
striated so scientists call
them “smooth” muscle.
A
# 6 Involuntary Muscle Cells
• Draw what you see
• Label: Nucleus
1) Why are these cells so
much shorter than voluntary
muscle cells?
A
2)Name two organs made of
this type of muscle.
3) What is the major
difference between
voluntary and involuntary
muscles?
# 7 Nerve Cells
• This tissue is taken from the spinal cord. “A” is the
main part of the cell called the cell body. The cell
has many long extensions which go very far in the
body.
A
B
# 7 Nerve Cells
• The ends of each branch make contact with other
cells. Nerve cells are shaped like long wires so they
can carry messages form one end of the body to
the other.
A
B
# 7 Nerve Cells
• Some nerve cells in the brain can keep their
information and send out messages for a long
time. This is how we learn and have memory.
A
B
# 7 Nerve Cells
• “B” is a small blood vessel that brings food and
oxygen to the nerve cells.
A
B
# 7 Nerve Cells
• Draw what you see
• Label: Cell Body,
Nucleus, Branches,
and Blood Vessel
1) Why are nerve cells
shaped the way they
are?
2) Why are we able to
remember so
information in our brain?
3) What does the blood
vessel do for our nerve
cells?
A
B
# 8 Gland Cells
• This slide was made from a section of the wall
of the large intestine. At “A” you can see a
gland with its duct opening into the middle of
the intestines.
A
B
# 8 Gland Cells
Around the duct are many glands cells. “B” is the
nucleus of one of these cells. The gland cells produce
a substance which burst form cells and enters the
duct.
The substance goes
into the intestine and
helps to break down
food.
A
B
# 8 Gland Cells – (Gland cells secrete
liquids needed in our body like digestive
enzymes and hormones.)
• Draw what you see
• Label: Duct and
Nucleus
A
B
1) What is the
function of gland
cells?
2)Why do they have
those pockets?
What do they do?