A nearly universal metabolic pathway in which the acetyl group of acetyl coenzyme A is effectively oxidized to two CO2 and four pairs of electrons are transferred to coenzymes. The acetyl group combines with oxaloacetate to form citrate, which undergoes successive transformations to isocitrate, 2-oxoglutarate, succinyl-CoA, succinate, fumarate, malate, and oxaloacetate again, thus completing the cycle. In eukaryotes the tricarboxylic acid is confined to the mitochondria. See also glyoxylate cycle.

The rigid or semi-rigid envelope lying outside the cell membrane of plant, fungal, most prokaryotic cells and some protozoan parasites, maintaining their shape and protecting them from osmotic lysis. In plants it is made of cellulose and, often, lignin; in fungi it is composed largely of polysaccharides; in bacteria it is composed of peptidoglycan; in protozoan parasites such as Giardia species, it's made of carbohydrates and proteins.

The part of the cytoplasm that does not contain organelles but which does contain other particulate matter, such as protein complexes.