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Golgi complex

Golgi complex

4.7
Small sacs inside a cell that change, sort, and pack proteins and fats for transport
  • noun
  • /ˈɡoʊldʒi ˈkɒmplɛks/
  • Specialized
translation icon : complejo de Golgi
  • Inside eukaryotic cells, the Golgi complex is essential for lipid transport.

Examples

  • The Golgi complex plays a crucial role in protein processing.

  • Secretory cells contain a well-developed Golgi complex to handle the volume of materials they export.

  • Scientists observed changes in the Golgi complex during the cell's lifecycle.

  • The Golgi complex plays a crucial role in packaging proteins for transport.

  • The Golgi complex plays a crucial role in packaging proteins that are sent out of the cell.

  • Proteins produced in the endoplasmic reticulum are modified and sorted by the Golgi complex before secretion.

  • Defects in the Golgi complex can lead to improperly folded proteins and various cellular problems.

Synonyms

Golgi apparatus
vsGolgi complex
  • Specialized
5.8

A part inside a cell that changes, sorts, and packs proteins and fats to send them out

is the alternative formal name used for the same organelle
Golgi body
vsGolgi complex
  • Specialized
6.3

A part inside a cell that changes and packs proteins to send them out

is the alternate common name for the same processing organelle
dictyosome
vsGolgi complex
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of flattened sacs in a cell that change and package proteins

is the term for the whole network not just a part

Surface Forms

Golgi complex singular

Morphology

Golgi + complex

This is an eponymic technical term: 'Golgi' is a proper name (not semantically informative to a B1 learner) and 'complex' only signals a multi-part structure. Knowing the constituents does not allow a learner to infer that this is a cellular organelle involved in protein/lipid processing, so the meaning is not derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Golgi complex is named after the Italian scientist Camillo Golgi, who first saw this structure in cells with a microscope. It looks like a stack of flat sacs, so people imagine it as the cell's 'post office' that 'packages' and 'sends' proteins to other parts of the cell, which explains its modern meaning.