Cell Division Vocabulary

Mitosis Part of eukaryotic cell division during which the cell nucleus divides

Meiosis The process by which the number of chromosomes per cell is cut in half through the separation of homologous chromosomes in a diploid cell

Meiosis I Includes prophase I, metaphase I, and anaphase I. It results in the formation of two haploid cells

Meiosis II Includes prophase II, metaphase II, anaphase II and telophase II. The final product is four haploid cells

Interphase The period of the cell cycle between cell divisions

Prophase The first and longest phase of mitosis during which the chromosomes become visible and the centrioles separate and take up positions on the opposite sides of the nucleus

Metaphase The second phase of mitosis during which the chromosomes line up across the center of the cell

Anaphase The third phase of mitosis during which the chromosome pairs separate and move towards opposite sides of the cell

Telophase The fourth and final phase of mitosis during which the chromosomes begin to disperse into a tangle of dense material

Cell division The process by which a cell divides into two new daughter cells.

G1 phase A period of activity in which the cells do most of their growing. During this phase, cells increase in size and synthesize new proteins and organelles.

S phase Comes after G1, it is when chromosomes are replicated and the synthesis of DNA molecules takes place

G2 phase The shortest phase of interphase, it is when many of the organelles and molecules required for cell division are produced.

Gamete A sex cell

Oocyte An immature egg cell

Sperm The male reproductive cell

Segregation Separation of alleles during gamete formation

Homologous Chromosomes that have corresponding chromosomes from the opposite sex parent.

Cell cycle A series of events cells go through as they grow and divide

DNA Nucleic acid that contains the sugar deoxyribose

Spindle Fanlike microtubule structure that helps separate chromosomes during mitosis

Centriole One of the two tiny structures located in the cytoplasm of animal cells near the nuclear envelope

Chromosome A threadlike structure within the nucleus containing the genetic information that is passed from one generation of cells to the next

Cancer Disorder in which some of the body’s own cells lose the ability to control growth

Crossing-over Process in which homologous chromosomes exchange portions of their chromatids during meiosis.

Diploid A cell that contains both sets of homologous chromosomes

Haploid A cell that only contains a single set of chromosomes

Tetrad A structure containing 4 chromatids that forms during meiosis

Chromatids One of the two identical “sister” parts of a duplicated chromosome

Centromere Area where the chromatids of a chromosome are attached

Cytokinesis Division of cytoplasm during cell division.

2N Diploid daughter cells

N Haploid cells