Topic: Cell division

sub-Topic: Introduction

Objectives: define mitosis and meiosis

 What changes have taken place in you from the time you were a baby to
present day?
 Did any of you had a bad fall and scratch your knee, or anywhere on your skin?
 Can you now identify the spot where you got the bruise?
 How did the healing take place?
CELL THEORY

 The cell is the basic unit of structure.

 The cell is the basic unit of function.

 All cells come from pre - existing cells.

 Which process results in the production of more cells from pre - existing cells?

Ans: The process is cell multiplication through cell division.

 What is cell division?

Ans: Cell division is the process by which new cells are formed.

 Why is cell division necessary?

Ans: It creates new cells for growth, repair, replacement and reproduction in the

body.
Somatic cells: Cells which are not involved in the process of production of gametes are called
somatic cells.
Cell multiply by cell division
• Life for all begin as a single cell.
• This cell grow divide to form two cells. These cells grow and divide again to form four cells.
• This process go on and on until all the structures necessary to complete the organism are
made.
Why do cells divide?
 Replacement Reproduction
Cell growth: Occurs to form tissues and organs.

Cell Replacement: There is

always wear and tear of cells during
normal body functions.
20 million red blood cells are
destroyed every minute. These are
replaced through cell division.
Cell Repair: There may be accidental injuries and one may get minor cuts in
the skin or fractures in the bones.
Repair of such injury is again through cells which divide, cover up the gaps and
join the broken ends.
Reproduction: Activity of the dividing cells (meiosis) plays an
important role in reproduction.
The cell cycle, or cell-division
cycle: is the series of events that
take place in a cell between
its formation and the moment it
replicates/duplicates itself.

Cell-division/cycle is an essential
process by which a single-cell
fertilized egg develops into a
mature organism and the
process by which hair, skin,
blood cells, and some internal
organs are renewed.
Cell organelles involved in cell division

• An important organelle in cell division is the

nucleus.
• It contains the cell’s genetic information and controls the activities of the cell.
• The nucleus contains DNA, the hereditary material/substance of the cell.
• The full form of DNA is
deoxyribonucleic acid.
• The DNA is in the form of a long strand called Chromatin.