a semifluid, viscous, translucent colloid, the essential living matter of all animal and plant cells: it consists largely of water, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and inorganic salts and is differentiated into nucleoplasm and cytoplasm
The complex, semifluid, translucent substance that constitutes the living matter of plant and animal cells and manifests the essential life functions of a cell. Composed of proteins, fats, and other molecules suspended in water, it includes the nucleus and cytoplasm.