Meiosis and Mitosis - illustration

Meiosis is used to make sperm and egg cells. During meiosis, a cell's chromosomes are copied once, but the cell divides twice. During mitosis, the chromosomes are copied once, and the cell divides once. For simplicity, cells are illustrated with only three pairs of chromosomes.

Image courtesy of Judith Stoffer and NIGMS (National Institute of General Medical Sciences).