<P> The process of mitosis is divided into stages corresponding to the completion of one set of activities and the start of the next . These stages are prophase , prometaphase , metaphase , anaphase , and telophase . During mitosis , the chromosomes , which have already duplicated , condense and attach to spindle fibers that pull one copy of each chromosome to opposite sides of the cell . The result is two genetically identical daughter nuclei . The rest of the cell may then continue to divide by cytokinesis to produce two daughter cells . Producing three or more daughter cells instead of normal two is a mitotic error called tripolar mitosis or multipolar mitosis ( direct cell triplication / multiplication ) . Other errors during mitosis can induce apoptosis ( programmed cell death ) or cause mutations . Certain types of cancer can arise from such mutations . </P>
state the process that divides one nucleus into two genetically identical nuclei
mitosis