Cell Replication: Mitosis and Cell Differentiation

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts of cell replication, mitosis, cytokinesis, specialised tissues, and tumours based on the lecture notes.

Mitosis

A form of cell division that produces new cells that are identical to the original cell, enabling young organisms to grow and repairing damaged body cells.

Cytokinesis

The division of the cytoplasm occurring immediately after mitosis, which ensures that the chromosome number in each resulting cell remains the same.

Cleavage

The cytokinesis process in animal cells where the cytoplasm constricts at the centre to divide the cell into two daughter cells.

Cell plate

A structure that forms across the centre of a dividing plant cell during cytokinesis, separating the daughter cells and serving as the base from which a new cell wall is built.

Imaginal discs

Special cells in insect pupae that divide via mitosis to develop into adult structures during metamorphosis while larval cells break down.

Meristems

Specialised plant tissue sites where cell division via mitosis and plant growth take place, located at root tips, bud sites, and the cambium layer.

Cambium layer

A meristematic plant layer situated between the xylem and phloem where mitotic cell division enables stems or trunks to expand in width.

Cell differentiation

The developmental process by which cells become specialised and structurally distinct from the parent cell through the activation of specific genes.

Benign tumour

An abnormal cell mass resulting from uncontrolled cell division that is enclosed within a capsule and does not invade neighbouring healthy tissue.

Malignant tumour

A mass of disordered, dividing cancer cells capable of adhering to adjacent healthy tissues and shedding cells that spread to other parts of the body.