amitosis
noun
Forms amitoses
- noun (obsolete, biology) cell division by cleavage of the nucleus without the formation of condensed chromosomes
Etymology
From a- + mitosis.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Cell division in which there is first a simple cleavage of the nucleus without change in its structure (such as the formation of chromosomes), followed by the division of the cytoplasm; direct cell division; --opposed to mitosis. It is not the usual mode of division, and is believed by many to occur chiefly in highly specialized cells which are incapable of long-continued multiplication, in transitory structures, and in those in early stages of degeneration.
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “amitosis”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details