The Cell Cycle and Mitosis

Cellular Division

Eukaryotic cells grow and divide in a process called the cell cycle. The cell cycle allows organisms to grow by producing new cells, and allows organisms to replace damaged cells. The eukaryotic cell cycle occurs in three stages: interphase, mitosis, and cytokinesis. Mitosis is the division of the nucleus, and cytokinesis is the division of the cytoplasm. Because mitosis is the division of the cytoplasm, mitosis only occurs in eukaryotic cells. In prokaryotic cells, new cells are produced in a process called binary fission. Both mitosis and binary fission are asexual modes of reproduction, resulting in offspring that are exact copies of the original parent cell.