This review covers data on the structural organization of functional sites in the human ribosome,namely,the messenger RNA binding center,the binding site of the hepatitis C virus RNA inteal ribosome entry site,and the peptidyl transferase center.The data summarized here have been obtained primarily by means of a site-directed crosslinking approach with application of the analogs of the respective ribosomal ligands bearing cross-linkers at the designed positions.These data are discussed taking into consideration available structural data on ribosomes from various kingdoms obtained with the use of cryo-electron microscopy,X-ray crystallography,and other approaches.