THE BEECHMONT CREST GUIDE TO BIOLOGICAL TERMS
GOLGI BODIES
Golgi bodies are flattened stacks of membranes found in eukaryotic cells. They were first discovered in the nineteenth century by the Italian physician Camillo Golgi, for whom they are named. The number of Golgi bodies in a cell ranges from one or two (in protists) to several hundred (in plants).
The collection of Golgi bodies inside a cell is referred to the Golgi apparatus. The Golgi apparatus performs transport functions within a cell. A Golgi body moves molecules (ex: a lipid or protein manufactured on the endoplasmic reticulum) by forming a vesicle (a small sac) around the molecule. The vesicle then detaches from the Golgi body and “migrates” to another location in the cell.