Chapter Overview
This chapter focuses on the process of cell reproduction in animals. It explains how animal cells divide to facilitate growth, repair, and reproduction. The chapter covers the mechanisms of mitosis, which is responsible for somatic cell division, and meiosis, the process that leads to the production of gametes necessary for sexual reproduction. It also highlights the significance of these processes in the development of an organism.
Important Keywords
- Cell Reproduction: The process by which cells divide and multiply.
- Mitosis: A type of cell division that results in two identical daughter cells, used for growth and repair.
- Meiosis: A special form of cell division that produces gametes with half the number of chromosomes.
- Gametes: Reproductive cells (sperm and egg) involved in sexual reproduction.
- Zygote: The cell formed by the fusion of two gametes, which develops into an embryo.
- Cell Cycle: The series of phases that a cell goes through from one division to the next.
- Fertilization: The union of sperm and egg to form a zygote.
- Chromosomes: Structures that carry genetic information, which are duplicated and segregated during cell division.