All of those different phrases refer to the exact same process. That’s why it’s important to be able to understand and articulate the role of each phase in mitosis overall.Īlso: you may have seen or heard the parts of mitosis called different things: mitosis phases, the stages of mitosis, the steps of mitosis, or maybe even something else. That means successful cell division depends on the precision and regulation of each phase of mitosis. Sounds simple enough, right? But different things occur in each step of mitosis, and each step is crucial to cell division occurring properly. Additionally, we’ll mention three other intermediary stages (interphase, prometaphase, and cytokinesis) that play a role in mitosis.ĭuring the four phases of mitosis, nuclear division occurs in order for one cell to split into two. So what are the stages of mitosis? The four stages of mitosis are known as prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase. The 4 Phases of Mitosis: Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telophase What we'll focus on in more detail in this article are the 4 stages of mitosis: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase, and what happens during those phases! So let’s get down to it.
If you're a little shaky on mitosis still, that's definitely where you should start. We have an overview of mitosis here, which is more of an intro to what mitosis is and how it works. In order to accomplish this goal, mitosis occurs in four discrete, consistently consecutive phases: 1) prophase, 2) metaphase, 3) anaphase, and 4) telophase. Mitosis is important because it ensures that all new cells that are generated in a given organism will have the same number of chromosomes and genetic information. The main purpose of mitosis is to accomplish cell regeneration, cell replacement, and growth in living organisms. Other types of cells, like prokaryotes, don’t have a nuclear membrane surrounding their cellular DNA, which is why mitosis only occurs in eukaryotic cells. A crucial part of mitosis involves breaking down the nuclear membrane that surrounds the cell’s DNA so that the DNA can be replicated and separated into new cells. Eukaryotic cells have a nucleus that contains the cell’s genetic material. Mitosis occurs in eukaryotic (animal) cells. Mitosis results in two new nuclei-which contain DNA-that eventually become two identical cells during cytokinesis. The role of mitosis in the cell cycle is to replicate the genetic material in an existing cell-known as the “parent cell”-and distribute that genetic material to two new cells, known as “daughter cells.” In order to pass its genetic material to the two new daughter cells, a parent cell must undergo cell division, or mitosis. Mitosis is a process that occurs during the cell cycle.
In this article, we’re going to do the following things to break down the four steps of mitosis for you and help you get acquainted with the mitosis phases: The key idea is that the process of mitosis involves four phases, or steps, that you need to understand if you want to understand how mitosis works. In other words, in the world of cell biology, mitosis is kind of a big deal!īut like with anything science-related, mitosis can be sort of confusing when you first try to understand it. In order to heal an injury, your body needs to replace damaged cells with healthy new ones.and mitosis plays a crucial role in this process! Mitosis is a process of cell division that helps you stay alive and healthy.