Biology MYA Practice Test

Cytokinesis is the final stage of cell division that splits the cytoplasm to form two distinct daughter cells. It comes after the nucleus has divided during mitosis (or meiosis). In animal cells, a contractile ring of actin pinches the membrane to create a cleavage furrow that divides the cell. In plant cells, vesicles fuse to form a cell plate that eventually becomes separating cell walls, splitting the cytoplasm. The other stages describe nuclear division or preparatory phases rather than the physical division of the cytoplasm, so they don’t complete cell division in the way cytokinesis does.