The Golgi complex, endoplasmic reticulum, lysosomes and cell membrane can all work together. In case you haven't read about the cell membrane yet, it is important to know that membranes are not solid like a piece of plastic wrap. The membrane structure is called a "fluid mosaic" because it can break apart or join together without leaving a hole. It might help to picture a solid layer of ping pong balls floating in a bucket of water. You can push your hand right through them and when you pull it out, they fill in the hole again. Of course bonding in the membrane lets it hold the cell together better than floating ping pong balls would, but being able to break apart and fuse together is important to the function of the Golgi complex.
The Golgi complex is like the cell's packaging and shipping department. It
is made up of a stack of flattened membrane sacks. Some of the protein being
transported through the canals of the endoplasmic reticulum ends up in the
Golgi complex. Here it may be joined with other molecules before being
"packaged". The packages are little pieces of the Golgi complex which break
off and form "vesicles". The vesicles move to the cell membrane and fuse
with it. It may the squirt its contents outside of the cell as a secretion.
Or the product assembled in the Golgi complex may be a new piece of the cell
membrane itself. In that case the vesicle fuses with the membrane and becomes
a part of it. In plant cells the Golgi complex can assemble material needed
for the cell wall. Click here to see an electron microscope
picture of the Golgi bodies and how they work.
Here are some Internet sites where you can get more information on the Golgi
complex.
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