Basic Cell Parts Involved in Mitosis

Why Must a Cell Divide?

What Does Mitosis Do?

Built-In Controls in Mitosis

Links

For Teachers

What Does Mitosis Do?

The main functions of mitosis are growth and repair. Some cells once fully formed do not undergo cell division, such as nerve cells and muscle cells. Since you can never re-grow or repair these types of cells once they are mature, you must take care of the ones you have.

However, to grow in size from a baby to teen-ager, all of the cells must undergo cell division. This is true of an elephant or a human. As for repair, we all cut ourselves from time to time, and the cells along the edges of the cut undergo mitosis to repair the cut. The same is true of broken bones. The cells along the edges of the break undergo mitosis to repair the break.