Mitosis

Mitosis is part of the cycle of cell division.^[1] The chromosomes of a cell are copied to make two identical sets of chromosomes,^[2] and the cell nucleus divides into two identical nuclei.^[3]

Before mitosis, the cell creates an identical set of its own genetic information – this is called replication. The genetic information is in the DNA of the chromosomes. At the beginning of mitosis the chromosomes wind up and become visible with a light microscope. The chromosomes are now two chromatids joined at the centromere. Since the two chromatids are identical to each other, they are called sister chromatids.

Mitosis happens in all types of dividing cells in the human body except with sperm and ova. The sperm and ova are gametes or sex cells. The gametes are produced by a different division method called meiosis.^[4]

1. ↑ Morgan D.L. 2007. The cell cycle: principles of control. London: New Science Press and Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-9539181-2-6
2. ↑ Carter, J. Stein 1996. Mitosis. biology.clc.uc.edu. UC – Clermont College. [1] Archived 2012-10-27 at the Wayback Machine
3. ↑ O'Connor, Clare 2008. Mitosis and cell division. Nature Education 1 (1):188. [2]
4. ↑ Alberts B, Johnson A, Lewis J, Raff M, Roberts K, Walter P. 2002. "Mitosis". Molecular Biology of the Cell (4th ed). Garland Science.