PATH 205.3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Skeletal Muscle, Cytochrome C Oxidase, Nuclear Membrane
Document Summary
Disease could be related to disturbance in cell function. Cellular organelles are smaller functional units and have even smaller entities. Molecular pathology = a science that encompasses all living phenomena and provide explanations for pathologic processes at the level of the molecules, atoms and their elementary particles. Common features and basic components: nucleus, cytoplasm and plasma membrane. Nucleus = essential part of most living cells: consists of: dna, rna and nuclear proteins, nucleolus = a specialized organelle composed primarily of rna. In resting cells, components are arranged into chromatin. In dividing cells (during mitosis), chromatin is restructured and the strand of dna condense into chromosomes. Consists of genes, differentially expressed in various tissues and organs. Differential expression of genes allows cells to assume unique features and have specialized functions = differentiated. In contrast, embryonic cells are undifferentiated and have not undergone specialization. Genetic information encoded in dna is transcribed into nuclear rna.
