mi|to|sis

mi|to|sis «mih TOH sihs, my-», noun.

Biology. the process by which a cell of a plant or animal divides to form two new cells, each containing the same number of chromosomes as the original cell; cell division. Mitosis is typically divided into four stages: prophase, in which the chromin of the nucleus forms into a thread that separates into segments or chromosomes, each of which in turn separates longitudinally into two parts; metaphase, in which the nuclear membrane disappears and the chromosomes line up near the middle of the cell; anaphase, in which one chromosome of each pair moves toward each end of the cell; and telophase, in which the chromosomes lose their threadlike shape and again become chromatin, two new nuclear membranes form around the chromatin, and the cytoplasm draws together in the middle, divides, and two new cells exist.

╂[< New Latin mitosis < Greek mítos thread + English -osis]