Protoplasm

Protoplasm is the part of a <a href="/facts/Cell_(biology)/bLM9UQvy">cell</a> that is surrounded by a <a href="/facts/Plasma_membrane/vAXSD0DT">plasma membrane</a>. It is a mixture of small molecules such as ions, <a href="/facts/Monosaccharide/yzs2d6Eq">monosaccharides</a>, amino acids, and macromolecules such as proteins, polysaccharides, lipids, etc.
In some definitions, it is a general term for the <a href="/facts/Cytoplasm/Wa0sE6xf">cytoplasm</a> (e.g., Mohl, 1846), but for others, it also includes the <a href="/facts/Nucleoplasm/PNGpzgCK">nucleoplasm</a> (e.g., Strasburger, 1882). For Sharp (1921), "According to the older usage the extra-nuclear portion of the <a href="/facts/Protoplast/bQkUkF6F">protoplast</a> [the entire cell, excluding the cell wall] was called "protoplasm," but the nucleus also is composed of protoplasm, or living substance in its broader sense. The current consensus is to avoid this ambiguity by employing <a href="/facts/Eduard_Strasburger/DAwGzoW2">Strasburger</a>'s (1882) terms <a href="/facts/Cytoplasm/Wa0sE6xf">cytoplasm</a> [coined by <a href="/facts/Albert_von_K%25C3%25B6lliker/eYudoEHx">Kölliker</a> (1863), originally as synonym for protoplasm] and <a href="/facts/Nucleoplasm/PNGpzgCK">nucleoplasm</a> [term coined by <a href="/facts/Edouard_Van_Beneden/U1EEX8xU">van Beneden</a> (1875), or <a href="/facts/Karyoplasm/PNGpzgCK">karyoplasm</a>, used by <a href="/facts/Walther_Flemming/cJG9vovz">Flemming</a> (1878)]." The cytoplasm definition of Strasburger excluded the <a href="/facts/Plastid/INesmXK7">plastids</a> (Chromatoplasm).
Like the nucleus, whether to include the <a href="/facts/Vacuole/9QjBVb7j">vacuole</a> in the protoplasm concept is controversial.

Protoplasm open-in-new

Protoplasm