What term is given to the process of cell division?

The term given to the process of cell division is mitosis. Mitosis is a specific type of cell division that occurs in somatic (non-reproductive) cells, leading to the production of two genetically identical daughter cells, each with the same number of chromosomes as the original cell. This process is crucial for growth, tissue repair, and asexual reproduction in multicellular organisms.

Mitosis involves several stages: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase, during which the cell's chromosomes are replicated and evenly distributed to ensure that each daughter cell receives an identical set of genetic material. The significance of mitosis lies in its role in maintaining the integrity of the genome across generations of cells.

In contrast, meiosis is the process of cell division that produces gametes (sperm and egg cells) with half the chromosome number of the parent cell and is crucial for sexual reproduction. Cytokinesis is actually the final step that occurs after mitosis or meiosis, where the cytoplasm divides, creating two separate cells. Binary fission is a method of asexual reproduction primarily seen in prokaryotic organisms (like bacteria), where the organism replicates its DNA and splits into two identical organisms without the complex processes