Stages of Mitosis
Prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase and cytokinesis.
There’s no easy way around these stages, so just bloody learn them. Actually there is an easy way.
Awesome video time!
Prophase
1. Chromosomes begin to appear visible under a microscope due to chromatin (the coiled and yet-again coiled DNA fibre) condensing. Before this the DNA is not specifically distinguishable in the shape of chromosomes. This is a terrible word tangle so this is how it is. From a bowl of spaghetti (the nucleus) put the spaghetti in the shape of several chromosomes. Chromatin is the spaghetti initially, and chromosomes are the spaghetti still, just turned and twisted and distinguishable as individual stick-shaped objects. That is all, that’s all it is. Before this happens though, the DNA must be replicated – that’s the reason behind the X shape of chromosomes; they are two “lines” a.k.a. chromatids joined together at their centres called…