Mitosis occurs when a eukaryotic cell has exited interphaseIt occurs in 4 stages:
Prophase: The spindle fibres appear in the cell, the chromosomes condense and the nuclear membrane of the nucleus disappearsMetaphase: The chromosomes align at the equator of the cell and the spindle fibres attach to the centromere of each chromosomeAnaphase: The chromosomes are pulled apart by the spindle fibres and split at the centromere. Sister chromatids move to opposite poles of the cell.Telophase: The nuclear membrane reforms around each set of chromosomes, the chromosomes decondense and the spindle fibres disappear. The cell then divides into 2 indentical daughter cells by the process of cytokinesis, which is not part of mitosis, but the next stage of the cell cycle.