Cell Cycle Mitosis Lab

Journal questions:

1. Based on your data and observations, what are some of the differences between normal cells and cancer cells?
   
   Cancerous cells seem to have fewer cells in Interphase than normal cells, if the sampling for this lab is any indication. Those cancerous cells also seem to have more cells in the prophase, metaphase, and anaphase than normal cells. All three of the cancerous cells in this lab (lung, stomach and ovary) had one cell in the slides that was in the telophase whereas non of the corresponding normal cell slides had a cell in the telophase.
   

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2. When studying cell division in tissue samples, scientists often calculate a mitotic index, which is the ratio of dividing cells to the total number of cells in the sample. Which type of tissue would have a higher mitotic index, normal tissue or cancerous tissue? Explain.
   
   Cancerous cells would have a higher mitotic index than normal cells because they exhibit a higher rate of dividing cells than normal tissue cells.
   

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3. Different types of normal tissues in the human body have different mitotic indices. From the following list, which normal tissues would you expect to have the highest mitotic index: muscle, skin, kidney, or lung? Explain your answer.
   
   Because various tissues of the body are replaced or renewed in cycles that are not identical, we see different mitotic indices; the mitotic index is a measurement of the cell division and that reveals the cycles inherent to that tissue group. Our skin regenerates more quickly than kidney tissue or muscle tissue for example. Because of this shorter life cycle, we would see a higher mitotic index for skin cells.