Mitosis and cell division

• Mitosis is a type of cell division done by most of your body cells and it's really important for your cells to divide
• If cells didn't divide, you wouldn't grow
• Mitosis


  The process that allows cells to grow and repair damage
• Mitosis is not the process that makes sperm or egg cells, that is called meiosis
• Mitosis


  The process that makes identical cells
• Cells are not dividing all the time, they spend most of their time in interphase
• Cancer is uncontrolled cell growth, which is uncontrolled mitosis
• Nucleus


  The organelle that holds the cell's DNA
• DNA is organised into condensed units called chromosomes to make it easier to move during cell division
• Humans have 46 chromosomes in their body cell nuclei
• Mitosis


  1. Prophase

  2. Metaphase

  3. Anaphase

  4. Telophase
• Spindles are fibers that help move the chromosomes to the opposite ends of the cell during mitosis
• Cytokinesis is the final step that splits the cytoplasm to complete the formation of two new cells after mitosis
• Understanding mitosis is important for understanding growth, repair, and cancer
• Uncontrolled mitosis


  Excessive and unchecked division of cells, as in the case of cancer cells
• Mitosis


  Type of cell division that results in two genetically identical daughter cells
• Uncontrolled


  Excessive and unchecked, as in the case of cancer cells
• Cell growth


  Process by which cells increase in size and divide to form new cells