What are the types of cell division?

There are two types of cell division in eukaryotic cells – mitosis and meiosis. Prokaryotic organisms use a simple form of cell division process called binary fission.   

Mitosis 

Mitosis refers to the process in which parent cells divide to produce two diploid daughter cells, which are exact replicas of themselves. Each of the daughter cells has the same number of chromosomes as the parent cells. 

Also known as vegetative cell division, this process is observed in all somatic or non-reproductive cells of the body such as skin, hair, gut, organ, and muscle cells. Its primary role of mitosis is to repair and replace damaged, old, or dead cells. 

Meiosis

Meiosis is observed only in reproductive cells. In this cell division process, parent cells first divide to produce two diploid daughter cells. The two daughter cells divide further into four haploid cells with half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell. Each of the haploid cells contains a unique set of genetic information. 

The primary role of meiosis is to ensure the continuation of the race and to maintain the same number of chromosomes from one generation to the next.