Home Preparation for National Talent Search Examination (NTSE)/ Olympiad
Chapter : 1. The cell
Lysosomes
Lysosomes : Introduction : • Lysosomes are generally found in the cytoplasm of animal cells. Lysosomes exhibit polymorphism. Historical Account : • The term lysosome was introduced by De Duve in 1955. Ultrastructure : • It is also called demolition squads, scavengers, cellular house keepers and suicidal bags. • Lysosome are simple tiny spherical sac like structures evenly distributed in the cytoplasm. • Lysosome is small vesicle surrounded by a single membrane and contains powerful enzymes. Functions of Lysosomes : • Lysosomes serve as interacellular digestive system, hence called digestive bags. • Lysosomes also remove the worn out and poorly working cellular organelles by digesting them to make way for their new replacement.