cellulaires

Cellulaires is a French term meaning cellular or relating to cells. In biology, it is used to describe aspects connected with the cells that make up living organisms, including cell structure, function, and organization. The concept covers the components found inside cells (such as the cell membrane, cytoplasm, and, in many organisms, a nucleus with organelles) and fundamental processes like metabolism, energy production, growth, division, and signaling. Cellular biology, also known as cytology, studies these topics and contrasts the characteristics of prokaryotic cells (lacking a defined nucleus) with eukaryotic cells (featuring a nucleus and organelles). The organization of life from unicellular organisms to multicellular tissues and organ systems is a central focus of cellular study.

Outside biology, cellulaires is used in French to refer to things connected with cellular networks. For example, réseaux cellulaires describes mobile or wireless networks, and téléphones cellulaires refers to mobile phones. In materials science, the term also appears in the phrase matériaux cellulaires, which describes foams or lattice structures composed of a network of cells that combine light weight with mechanical stiffness.

Etymology-wise, cellulaires derives from Latin cellula, meaning a small room or chamber, and the modern biological sense is closely tied to the concept of the cell as the basic unit of life. The English counterpart is cellular, and related fields include cellular biology, cytology, and, in technology, cellular networks.