MEDICAL PHYSIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Kinetochore microtubules attach to the condensed chromosomes of mitotic cells at their centromeres, which are associated with specific proteins to form the kinetochore (see Figure 4.16).

Detailed explanation-2: -The segregation of the replicated chromosomes is brought about by a complex cytoskeletal machine with many moving parts-the mitotic spindle. It is constructed from microtubules and their associated proteins, which both pull the daughter chromosomes toward the poles of the spindle and move the poles apart.

Detailed explanation-3: -The spindle is a complex microtubule-based superstructure responsible for chromosome movement and segregation during mitosis and meiosis (McIntosh and Koonce 1989; Mitchison 1989a; Rieder 1991; Hyman and Karsenti 1996; Compton 2000).

Detailed explanation-4: -The mitotic spindles formed during prophase are composed of microtubules and have a ropelike structure. The function of the mitotic spindle is to help to equally divide the chromosomes in the parent cell to ensure that equal, identical copies are found in both daughter cells after mitosis is complete.

Detailed explanation-5: -Kinetochore microtubules attach the chromosomes to the spindle pole; interpolar microtubules extend from the spindle pole across the equator, almost to the opposite spindle pole; and astral microtubules extend from the spindle pole to the cell membrane.