What is the meaning of lysosome

Lysosomes

• The sac-like structures in a cell surrounded by membrane are called lysosomes.
• They keep the cells clean by digesting and breaking the outside materials like bacteria, food entering the cell or worn-out cell organelles into small pieces.
• They can digest these organic materials due to the presence of strong digestive enzymes that can brreak down organic compounds. Therefore, lysosome is also known as a suicide sac.
• Many scientists believe that lysosomes are not present in plant cells and their function of lysosomes in plants is performed by vacuole.

Lysosomes are membrane-bound sacs filled with digestive enzymes. They are a kind of waste disposal system of the cell. They help to keep the cell clean by digesting any foreign material as well as worn-out cell organelles. Foreign materials entering the cell, such as bacteria or food, as well as old organelles end up in the lysosomes, which break them up into small pieces because they contain powerful digestive enzymes capable of breaking down all organic material. If their covering membrane breaks as it happens during injury to cell, the digestive enzymes will spill over the cell contents and digest the same. As lysosomes are organelles which on bursting can kill cells possessing them, they are called suicide bags.