Mitosis can be described as the process of cells dividing in simple words. When we talk about cell division we don't exactly mean cells doing long division like shown in the picture. Cell division is the process where a cell is split in half and duplicated. Mitosis takes place in regular body cells. It occurs in order to keep cells living and growing which is a basic living process. During the process of mitosis DNA is replicated so that the two daughter cells have equivalent genetic code this division results in identical diploid cells to form. The cell has to undergo various processes in preparation for the split this is a five step processes consisting of prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. Then a final step - Cytokinesis occurs which is the most crucial where the cell actually splits. A visual representation of this process is shown below.
Mutations
If a mistake occurs during mitosis DNA can be damaged and differences can happen in the DNA sequence. These differences can be harmless or pathogenic. When a change occurs all the cells produced from the altered cell will have that difference. This results in the body to have two types of cells in their system- this is known as mosaicism, which means the two types of cell are those with the normal genetic pattern and those with the change.Somatic cell changes will not be passed on to kids however germline cells will..The cell might notice this change and make it cease from continuing this is called apoptosis.Many somatic mutations and no cell cycle checking can cause an uncontrollable cell dividing process occurring producing a tumor. Metastasis can occur where the cancerous cells are distributed throughout the body. This can change the genetic makeup of the cell. The diagram below provides visual representation of the cell.
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