1 Profession: Actor, Screenwriter, Director. 2  Biography: An icon of machismo and Hollywood action heroism, Sylvester Stallone is responsible for creating two characters who have become a part of the American cultural lexicon: Rocky Balboa, the no-name boxer who overcame all odds to become a champion, and...
In general, the functions of lysosomes involve breaking-down i.e. processing to 'make safe' or make use of, or removing from the cell e.g. by exocytosis, useless and potentially harmful materials such as old worn-out parts of the cell or potential threats such bacteria.
Lysosomes digest excess or worn-out organelles, food particles, and engulf viruses or bacteria. The membrane around a lysosome allows the digestive enzymes to work at the 4.5 pH they require. Lysosomes fuse with vacuoles and dispense their enzymes into the vacuoles, digesting their contents. They are created by the addition of hydrolytic enzymes to early endosomes from the Golgi apparatus. The name lysosome derives from the Greek words lysis, to separate, and soma, body.