Definition · Plain-language
Animal cell
An animal cell is a eukaryotic cell that makes up animal bodies, with a nucleus, cell membrane, cytoplasm and mitochondria but no cell wall or chloroplasts.
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The building block of animals
An animal cell is the smallest living unit that makes up an animal’s body, from a jellyfish to a human. It is a eukaryotic cell, meaning it keeps its genetic material inside a nucleus. Because animals obtain food by eating rather than making it, animal cells do not need the food-making and support structures that plant cells have. Instead they tend to be rounded and flexible, able to take many shapes — a nerve cell is long and branched, a red blood cell is a flattened disc — each suited to its particular job in the body.
The main parts
Every typical animal cell has the same core parts. The cell membrane is the thin outer boundary that controls what enters and leaves. The nucleus is the control centre, holding the DNA. The cytoplasm is the jelly-like fluid where chemical reactions happen and where the other parts sit. Ribosomes, tiny structures in the cytoplasm, build proteins. Mitochondria release energy by aerobic respiration. Together these parts let the cell carry out all the processes of life: taking in nutrients, releasing energy, building materials and responding to its surroundings.
What animal cells lack
Comparing an animal cell with a plant cell highlights three things animal cells do not have. There is no cell wall — only the flexible membrane — so animal cells are not held in a fixed boxy shape. There are no chloroplasts, because animals cannot photosynthesise and must eat for food. And there is no large permanent vacuole; animal cells may have small temporary vacuoles, but nothing like the single big sap-filled vacuole of a plant cell. These absences fit the animal way of life, which depends on eating and moving rather than standing still and making food.
Key facts
At a glance
- Definition: the eukaryotic cell that makes up animal bodies
- Boundary: a flexible cell membrane (no cell wall)
- Control: a nucleus holding the genetic material
- Energy: mitochondria carry out aerobic respiration
- Lacks: cell wall, chloroplasts and a large permanent vacuole
- Shape: rounded and variable, suited to each cell’s job
Common misconceptions
What people often get wrong
Often heard: Animal cells have a cell wall like plant cells.
Actually: Animal cells have only a flexible cell membrane, not a rigid cell wall. The cell wall is a feature of plant cells. Without one, animal cells are more rounded and can change shape, which suits an animal’s active way of life.
Often heard: All animal cells look the same.
Actually: Animal cells are highly varied. A long branching nerve cell, a disc-shaped red blood cell and a tiny sperm cell are all animal cells, each shaped to suit its job. They share the same core parts but differ greatly in form.
Often heard: Animal cells can make their own food because they have mitochondria.
Actually: Mitochondria release energy from food by respiration — they do not make food. Animals have no chloroplasts and cannot photosynthesise, so they must take in food from their surroundings.
Going deeper
