What is the appearance of the endoplasmic reticulum?

Endoplasmic reticulum is a continuous membrane, which is present in both plant cells, animal cells and absent in prokaryotic cells. It is the membrane of network tubules and flattened sacs, which serves a variety of functions within the cell. read more

The endoplasmic reticulum is found in most cells. It's job is to transport proteins around the cell, ensuring it's survival. It's long, and curved in shape, and are in "stacks". It's made out of stacks of membranes. It is almost shaped like a 'wifi signal'. There are two kinds of endoplasmic reticulum: smooth and rough. read more

The RER gets its name from a series of studded ribosomes that produce proteins. The ribosomes are located on the cytosolic side of the endoplasmic reticulum, which is also called the ER. The presence of these ribosomes on the outer layer of the RER distinguishes it from smooth endoplasmic reticulum, which is known as the SER. read more