ground substance
Noun: 1. The clear, nongranular portion of the cytoplasm of a cell: The fluid-like, homogeneous matrix within a cell that surrounds the organelles and other inclusions. 2. The body substance in which tissue cells are embedded: The amorphous, gel-like component of the extracellular matrix in connective tissue that fills the spaces between cells and fibers.
Cytoplasmic Context:
- Organelles like mitochondria are suspended within the ground substance of the cytoplasm.
- The viscosity of the cytoplasmic ground substance affects the movement of molecules within the cell.
Connective Tissue Context:
- Collagen fibers are embedded in the ground substance of cartilage.
- The ground substance provides a medium for the diffusion of nutrients and waste between blood vessels and cells.
- "Extracellular ground substance": A more specific term used in histology and biology to explicitly refer to the matrix material outside of cells, distinguishing it from the intracellular cytoplasm.
- The extracellular ground substance is primarily composed of glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans.
- Cytosol (n): Often used synonymously with the cytoplasmic ground substance, specifically referring to the liquid component of the cytoplasm.
- Matrix (n): A broader term that can refer to the ground substance, especially in connective tissue (e.g., ).
- Hyaloplasm (n): An older, less common term for the clear, fluid part of the cytoplasm.
- Cytoplasmic matrix (for the cellular definition).
- Interstitial matrix (for the tissue definition, in part).
The term "ground substance" has two distinct but conceptually related meanings in biology: 1. Intracellular: Refers to the internal environment of a single cell. 2. Extracellular: Refers to the external environment that surrounds and supports a community of tissue cells. The shared concept is that of a fundamental, embedding medium.
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the clear nongranular portion of the cytoplasm of a cell
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the body substance in which tissue cells are embedded
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