Answer:
Cytokinesis is the physical process of cell division, which divides the cytoplasm of a parental cell into two daughter cells. It occurs concurrently with two types of nuclear division called mitosis and meiosis, which occur in animal cells.
Explanation:
From a basic biology standpoint, the successful end of any individual eukaryotic cell's life is the division of that cell into two daughter cells, each of them carrying a complete copy of the parent cell's DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid (i.e., its genetic material).
This division of the cell is called cytokinesis, and is immediately preceded by mitosis, the multi-step process that separates the cell's DNA into two daughter nuclei.
Mitosis and cytokinesis together represent the fourth and final stage of the eukaryotic cell cycle, called the M phase. The M phase is preceded by the three stages that together make up interphase, the part of the cell cycle in which no nuclear or cellular division processes are taking place.
The mechanics of cytokinesis are not yet completely understood, but a great deal is known about the critical timing of its events and other aspects of the final step in the cycle of any one cell.
The four stages of cytokinesis are initiation, contraction, membrane insertion and completion.
