Animal Cell: Organelle: Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum

SMOOTH ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM or SER: shown as a tangle of pink interconnected tubules. Unlike the rough ER, it lacks ribosomes. The smooth ER is continuous with the rough ER but has different functions.

SUMMARY
name(s): smooth endoplasmic reticulum, smooth ER, tubular endoplasmic reticulum, agranular endoplasmic reticulum
location: in cytoplasm
appearance: interconnected and ramifying tubules; no ribosomes
size: tubules are about 150nm in diameter (variable)
function: used in lipid synthesis, detoxification and other metabolic processes.