amitosis

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: am=i=to=sis

CIDE DICTIONARY

amitosis, n. [NL. See A- not, and Mitosis.].

 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.  [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

amitosis, n. Biol. a form of nuclear division that does not involve mitosis.

Etymology

A-(1) + MITOSIS