Cell Specialization

and Division
Packet

Review

In the Body Systems Project, you learned that

many different tissues and organs work together
allow the body to function. Each tissue is made of
specialized cells that do different jobs.

Nervous System Examples:

What is a nerve cell (Khan Academy): 6:31 https

://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob5U8zPbAX4

How neurons work (neurotransmitters): 4:51

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5cab4hgmoE

Specialized Cells
Specialized Cells have Specialized Jobs

Red Blood Cells

Red blood cells

carry oxygen
around the body.

Bone Cells

Bone cells
provide
strength and
stability to the
skeleton, so
that animals
can stand,
walk and run.

Muscle Cells

Muscle cells work to move a body part, including

arms and legs as well as the heart and stomach.
There are three types of muscle cells; skeletal
(attached to bones), smooth (found in internal
organs) and cardiac (heart muscle).

Skeletal

Smooth

Cardiac

Neurons

Nerve cells are called

neurons
Neurons send
electrical messages
from the brain to the
rest of the body.

Multicellular organisms

All multicellular organisms have

specialized cells, so plants have
specialized cells too. The next few
slides have a few examples of
specialized cells in plants.

Leaf Cells

The cells in the leaves of plants are specialized to

carry out photosynthesis, as well as allow carbon
dioxide in and oxygen out.

Root Cells

The cells in plant

roots are
specialized to take
in water and
nutrients from the
soil, and then
begin the process
of transporting
those materials up
the stem.

Two cells to many cells

Most organisms start out as two cells, one from the mother
and one from the father.
The first cells are called stem cells, which have the ability to
turn into any cell type.
Those cells divide for some time, creating more stem cells.
At some point, the stem cells get a message to turn into a
specialized cell. Examples of specialized cells are muscle
cells, neurons, skin cells and bone cells.
The specialized cells continue to divide, to create the
different parts of the body.

1. Describe Cell Division

Cell division is the process by which one cell
becomes two. As cells divide, they can become
specialized cells.

What is a stem cell?

Stem cells are cells

that are not
differentiated. They
are the cells from
which all other cells
come.