Mitosis is the phase of the cell cycle where
chromosomes in the nucleus are evenly divided
between two cells. When the cell division
process is complete, two daughter cells with
identical genetic material are produced.
Interphase
Before a dividing cell enters mitosis, it
undergoes a period of growth called interphase.
About 90 percent of a cell's time in the normal
cell cycle may be spent in interphase.
G1 phase: The period prior to the synthesis of
DNA. In this phase, the cell increases in mass in
preparation for cell division. The G1 phase is the
first gap phase.
S phase: The period during which DNA is
synthesized. In most cells, there is a narrow
window of time during which DNA is
synthesized. The S stands for synthesis.
G2 phase: The period after DNA synthesis has
occurred but prior to the start of prophase. The
cell synthesizes proteins and continues to
increase in size. The G2 phase is the second gap
phase.
In the latter part of interphase, the cell still has
nucleoli present.
The nucleus is bounded by a nuclear envelope
and the cell's chromosomes have duplicated but
are in the form of chromatin.
Prophase
In prophase, the chromatin condenses into
discrete chromosomes. The nuclear envelope
breaks down and spindles form at opposite
poles of the cell. Prophase (versus interphase) is
the first true step of the mitotic process. During
prophase, a number of important changes
occur:
Chromatin fibers become coiled into
chromosomes, with each chromosome having
two chromatids joined at a centromere.
The mitotic spindle, composed of microtubules
and proteins, forms in the cytoplasm.
The two pairs of centrioles (formed from the
replication of one pair in Interphase) move
away from one another toward opposite ends
of the cell due to the lengthening of the
microtubules that form between them.
Polar fibers, which are microtubules that make
up the spindle fibers, reach from each cell pole
to the cell's equator.
Kinetochores, which are specialized regions in
the centromeres of chromosomes, attach to a
type of microtubule called kinetochore fibers.
The kinetochore fibers "interact" with the
spindle polar fibers connecting the kinetochores
to the polar fibers.
The chromosomes begin to migrate toward the
cell center.
Metaphase
In metaphase, the spindle reaches maturity and
the chromosomes align at the metaphase plate
(a plane that is equally distant from the two
spindle poles). During this phase, a number of
changes occur:

The nuclear membrane disappears completely.
Polar fibers (microtubules that make up the
spindle fibers) continue to extend from the
poles to the center of the cell.
Chromosomes move randomly until they attach
(at their kinetochores) to polar fibers from both
sides of their centromeres.
Chromosomes align at the metaphase plate at
right angles to the spindle poles.
Chromosomes are held at the metaphase plate
by the equal forces of the polar fibers pushing
on the centromeres of the chromosomes.
Anaphase
In anaphase, the paired chromosomes (sister
chromatids) separate and begin moving to
opposite ends (poles) of the cell. Spindle fibers
not connected to chromatids lengthen and
elongate the cell. At the end of anaphase, each
pole contains a complete compilation of
chromosomes. During anaphase, the following
key changes occur:
The paired centromeres in each distinct
chromosome begin to move apart.
Once the paired sister chromatids separate
from one another, each is considered a "full"
chromosome. They are referred to as daughter
chromosomes.
Through the spindle apparatus, the daughter
chromosomes move to the poles at opposite
ends of the cell.
The daughter chromosomes migrate
centromere first and the kinetochore fibers
become shorter as the chromosomes near a
pole.
In preparation for telophase, the two cell poles
also move further apart during the course of
anaphase. At the end of anaphase, each pole
contains a complete compilation of
chromosomes.
Telophase
In telophase, the chromosomes are cordoned
off into distinct new nuclei in the emerging
daughter cells. The following changes occur:
The polar fibers continue to lengthen.
Nuclei begin to form at opposite poles.
The nuclear envelopes of these nuclei form
from remnant pieces of the parent cell's nuclear
envelope and from pieces of the
endomembrane system.
Nucleoli also reappear.
Chromatin fibers of chromosomes uncoil.
After these changes, telophase/mitosis is largely
complete. The genetic contents of one cell have
been divided equally into two.
Cytokinesis
Cancer Cell Mitosis
Cytokinesis is the division of the cell's
cytoplasm. It begins prior to the end of mitosis
in anaphase and completes shortly after
telophase/mitosis. At the end of cytokinesis,
two genetically identical daughter cells are
produced. These are diploid cells, with each cell
containing a full complement of chromosomes.

Cells produced through mitosis are different

from those produced through meiosis. In
meiosis, four daughter cells are produced.
These cells are haploid cells, containing one-half
the number of chromosomes as the original
cell. Sex cells undergo meiosis. When sex cells
unite during fertilization, these haploid cells
become a diploid cell.