Lysosome

This article describes an organelle, a cell component with its own distinctive structure and function. In eukaryotic cells, this is bounded by its own membrane, which is a lipid bilayer made of phospholipid.

Lysosome (plural lysosomes) is an organelle whose primary function is the destruction, via digestion, of waste materials in the cell, and the recycling of the chemical constituents back to the cell for reuse.

Summary

Item	Value
Type of organisms whose cells contain lysosomes	animal cells. The analogous structures in plant cells are called lytic vacuoles.
Type of cells within the organisms that contain lysosomes	All (?) cells
Number of lysosomes per cell	?
Size	$\!0.1-1.2\mu m$ per lysosome
Location within cell	Could be anywhere
Structural components	?
Chemical constituents	lytic enzymes, i.e., enzymes that aid in the digestion process.
Environment	Acidic pH, in the 4-5 range.
Control of the entry and exit of materials
Function	Digestion of organelles, food particles, and viruses/bacteria
Evolutionary origin	?
Variation between organisms	?