Structures that are pulled apart by spindle fibres during mitosis
Equator
The middle of the cell, where pairs of chromatids line up
Spindle fibres
Structures that pull chromatids apart
Diploid
A cell with two sets of chromosomes (e.g. liver cell, kidney cell)
Stem cell
An animal cell that is unspecialised which can divide in order to self-renew. They have the potentialtobecomedifferenttypesofcell and are involved in growth and repair
Stem cells
Function: Growth & repair
Cells
Basic building block of living things
Tissue
A group of similar cells that work together
Organs
A group of tissues that work together
Organ systems
A group of organs that work together
Chromosomes are found within the nucleus of cells. They carry the geneticinformation of the organism
Each chromosome is made up of two chromatids
Human cells have 46chromosomes in the nucleus of each cell
Normal body cells
Have 2 matching sets of chromosomes, known as diploid cells
In humans this is 2 sets of 23 chromosomes
Mitosis is important to maintain the diploid chromosome complement of the cell
Stages of Mitosis
1. Chromosomes replicating and doubling in number
2. Chromosomes become coiled up & visible, made of pairs of identical chromatids
3. Pairs of chromatids line up at the equator, spindle fibres form and attach
4. Pairs of chromatids are pulled apart, chromosomes move to opposite poles
5. Nuclear membranes form to produce 2 new nuclei
6. The cytoplasm divides
Stem cells
Found in animals, unspecialised cells that can divide to produce more stem cells or develop into specialised cells, have the potential to become different types of cell and are involved in growth and repair, found in bone marrow and can be obtained from the embryo
The specialisation of cells leads to the formation of a variety of cells, tissues and organs. Groups of organs work together to form systems
