A bacterial cell contains lots of the same stuff that you'd find in an eukaryotic cell, such as those which make up our bodies. For example, the DNA found in all living things and which acts as a kind of recipe book telling your body how to build itself, is made up of the same chemicals throughout nature. That's because we all started off from the same point and have evolved into the wealth of species found on Earth today.
But a bacterial cell is also quite a lot different to our cells. To start with, bacteria are a lot simpler than eukaryotes and instead of having their DNA tightly wound up in a nucleus, it is found in the cytoplasm. The cytoplasm is the word we use to describe all the liquidy bits floating around inside the cell.
As well as DNA, you will also find various nutrient storage granules, ribosomes (for making proteins) and mitochondria in the cytoplasm. The mitochondria are the cellular equivalents of batteries and these mini-power houses are responsible for making all the energy required for a cell to stay alive. An interesting hypothesis to explain where ribosomes came from suggests that one of our most distant ancestors decided to eat a very basic bacterial cell but, instead or digesting it, the two started to co-exist peacefully. Several million years later, all cells contain these mitochondria and neither could live without the other.
Holding everything together is the cell membrane, similar to that which you'd find around a eukaryotic cell. Bacterial cells also have a cell wall to maintain their shape and stop themselves from popping open and dying. This cell wall is the target of lots of anti-bacterial drugs that we use to treat infectious diseases. You'll notice on the diagram that bacteria can also have various projections sticking out of their cell walls. Short pilli can be used to attach to surfaces or interact with other cells - this is important for disease causing bacteria. Long flagella are found on some species - these are really clever pieces of equipment that allow cells to move about by rotating their flagella.
