Cell Growth and Division Vocabulary

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering cell growth, prokaryotic binary fission, eukaryotic mitosis, cell cycle regulation, cancer development, and stem cell differentiation.

Surface Area to Volume Ratio

The relationship between a cell's exterior membrane surface and its interior volume, which cells keep large to efficiently exchange materials and avoid overloading DNA instructions.

Asexual Reproduction

A form of reproduction in which one cell divides into two identical cells without the need to find a mate.

Budding

A type of asexual reproduction in multicellular organisms where an outgrowth forms from one parent organism.

Vegetative Propagation

A form of asexual reproduction in which portions of certain plants are cut off and regrown into a whole new plant.

Sexual Reproduction

Reproduction involving the joining of $2$ reproductive cells—one from each of $2$ parents—which mixes genetic information to improve a species' survival.

Chromatin

Long strands of genetic material found in the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell during most of the cell's life.

Histones

Proteins around which DNA wraps to prevent tangling and breaking during cell division.

Chromosomes

Tightly packed, X-shaped structures formed by DNA coiled around histones during cell division.

Binary Fission

The cell division process in prokaryotes where one circular piece of DNA is copied and the cell pinches in half, producing $2$ identical cells.

Interphase

The period of the eukaryotic cell cycle in which the cell spends most of its time growing and preparing for division.

$G_1$ Phase

The first phase of interphase during which the cell grows and duplicates its organelles.

$S$ Phase

The synthesis phase of interphase during which the cell copies its chromosomes.

$G_2$ Phase

The stage of interphase where the cell grows and checks the duplicated chromosomes.

Mitosis

The eukaryotic process of nuclear cell division consisting of four main phases that split the chromosomes.

Prophase

The first phase of mitosis where chromatin coils into chromosomes, the nuclear envelope disappears, centrioles move to poles, and spindle fibers form.

Spindle Fibers

Microtubule structures that form during prophase to organize and separate chromosomes during cell division.

Metaphase

The phase of mitosis in which chromosomes attach by their centromeres to spindle fibers and line up along the middle of the cell.

Centromere

The constricted region of a duplicated chromosome where two identical sister chromatids are held together.

Sister Chromatids

Two identical copies of a chromosome attached at the centromere.

Anaphase

The phase of mitosis during which centromeres split and sister chromatids are pulled to opposite ends of the cell.

Telophase

The final phase of mitosis where chromatids reach opposite poles, a nuclear envelope reforms around each chromosome set, and spindle fibers disappear.

Cytokinesis

The physical splitting of the cytoplasm to divide one cell into two new daughter cells following mitosis.

Cell Plate

A dividing structure that forms during plant cell cytokinesis to separate the two newly formed daughter cells.

Growth Factors

External regulatory proteins that send signals to the cell membrane to speed up the cell cycle.

Cyclins

A group of internal regulatory proteins whose concentration rises and falls to control the timing of the cell cycle.

Cdk

A protein complex that joins with cyclins at specific cycle checkpoints; failure at a checkpoint leads to inhibitor attachment and cycle arrest.

Tumor

An abnormal mass of cells resulting from uncontrolled division and failure to stop at cell cycle checkpoints.

Malignant

Characterizing a harmful, cancerous tumor that can invade surrounding tissues and spread to distant areas.

Metastasis

The spread of malignant tumor cells through the circulatory system to establish secondary sites in other tissues.

Carcinogens

Cancer-causing agents that damage DNA and disrupt cell cycle regulation, including tobacco, radiation, synthetic chemicals, and viruses.

Melanoma

A type of skin cancer caused by DNA damage from exposure to UV radiation.

Chemotherapy

A cancer treatment that uses specialized chemical drugs to destroy rapidly-dividing cells.

Stem Cell

An unspecialized cell capable of dividing indefinitely and differentiating into many different cell types.

Differentiation

The process by which an unspecialized cell becomes specialized by expressing specific functional sections of its DNA.

Embryo

An early developmental stage in multicellular organisms consisting of a small clump of unspecialized cells.

Totipotent

The quality of early embryonic cells that allows them to differentiate into any cell type in the body.

Regenerative Medicine

A medical field (also termed stem cell therapy) that uses reprogrammed stem cells to replace damaged tissues or repair organs destroyed by disease.