Interphase
The stage where a cell spends approximately 90% of its life cycle growing and carrying out normal functions.
Interphase
The phase of mitosis where chromatin condenses into visible chromosomes and the nuclear envelope disappears.
Prophase
The phase where sister chromatids are pulled apart toward opposite poles of the cell
Anaphase
Two identical copies of a single chromosome held together at the center.
Sister Chromatids
Stage where chromosomes look like an "X" shape under a microscope but are not yet lined up in the middle.
Prophase
The specific sub-phase of Interphase where DNA is replicated.
Synthesis (S Phase)
The phase of mitosis where chromosomes align along the center equator of the cell.
Metaphase
The phase where two new nuclear membranes reform around separated chromosome sets.
Telophase
Protein threads that pull chromosomes apart during nuclear division.
Spindle Fibers
Stage where separated chromosomes look like single "V" shapes moving away from the center.
Anaphase
The loose, uncoiled form of DNA found inside the nucleus during Interphase.
Chromatin
The organelle structures that move to opposite ends of the cell during prophase to extend spindle fibers.
Centrioles
The final division of the cell's cytoplasm that creates two independent cells.
Cytokinesis
The shallow groove formed in animal cell membranes during cytokinesis
Cleavage furrow
The total number of daughter cells produced at the end of mitosis, and their genetic relation to the parent cell.
2 Genetically identical daughter cells
The final sub-phase of Interphase where the cell makes final preparations for nuclear division.
Gap 2 / G2 Phase
The specific region on a chromosome where spindle fibers attach during metaphase.
Centromere or Kinetochore
The structure formed during cytokinesis in plant cells to split the daughter cells apart.
Cell Plate
The main biological purpose of mitosis in multicellular organisms.
Growth and tissue repair (for somatic cells)
The term for human body cells that undergo mitosis
Somatic Cells
The cell cycle checkpoint occurring near the end of Interphase that checks for DNA damage and ensures all DNA is fully replicated before nuclear division begins
G2 checkpoint
The protein complex assembled on the centromere of each chromosome where spindle fibers attach during Metaphase.
Kinetochore
The state of human chromosomes in Anaphase versus Telophase, where individual sister chromatids become individual single-stranded chromosomes once separated.
Individual Chromosomes
The resting, non-dividing state entered by specialized cells (such as nerve cells) that exit the cell cycle during G1
G0 phase (G-no phase)
Uncontrolled, rapid cell division that occurs when genes regulating the cell cycle checkpoints mutate and fail.
Cancer