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Article: Endoplasmic Reticulum
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- Biology
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Endoplasmic Reticulum
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a series of interconnected membranes or flattened sacs adjacent and connected to the nuclear membrane. The ER comes in two different morphological forms: smooth endoplasmic reticulum (sER) and rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER). The primary function of the sER is to serve as a platform for the synthesis of lipids (fats), carbohydrate (sugars)
metabolism
, and the detoxification of drugs and other toxins.
Tissues and organs that directly participate in these activities, such as the liver, are enriched in sER. Morphologically, the rER is studded with
ribosomes
that participate in
protein
synthesis giving its "rough" appearance ...