Mitosis vs Meiosis

Cell Division in Somatic Cells

• Mitosis is the type of cell division that occurs in somatic (body) cells.
• Somatic cells are all the cells in the body except for germ cells (sperm and egg cells).

Purpose of Mitosis

• The primary purpose of mitosis is for growth and repair.
• Mitosis allows for the creation of new cells to replace damaged or worn-out cells, ensuring the continuous renewal of tissues.

Stages of Mitosis

• Telophase is the phase of mitosis that follows prophase, metaphase, and anaphase.
• During telophase, the chromosomes reach the poles of the cell, the nuclear envelope reforms, and the cytoplasm divides, ultimately creating two daughter cells.

Outcome of Mitosis

• The end result of mitosis is the production of two identical daughter cells from a single parent cell.
• Each daughter cell receives a complete set of chromosomes, identical to the original parent cell.

Meiosis

• Meiosis occurs specifically in germ cells (sperm and egg cells).
• It is a process of cell division specifically for the production of gametes, which are haploid cells (containing half the number of chromosomes as a somatic cell).