Types of Cells

There are two primary types of cells: prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells. (See Bio-Word Dissections for additional information about biological naming conventions.) Prokaryotic cells have no true nucleus while eukaryotic cells have a true nucleus. There are many distinctions between these two different types of cells as summarized by this table:

Only bacteria and cyanobacteria are prokaryotes. Animals, plants, fungi and protists are eukaryotes. Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells also differ in size. On average, prokaryotic cells are about 10 times smaller in diameter than eukaryotic cells.

Next page > Differences between plant and animal eukaryotic cells > Page 1, 2