: the final stage of mitosis and of the second division of meiosis in which the spindle disappears and the nucleus reforms around each set of chromosomes
2
: the final stage in the first division of meiosis that may be missing in some organisms and is characterized by the gathering at opposite poles of the cell of half of the original number of chromosomes including one from each homologous pair
Word History
Etymology
International Scientific Vocabulary
First Known Use
1895, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Medical Definition
telophase
noun
telo·phase ˈtel-ə-ˌfāz ˈtēl-
1
: the final stage of mitosis and of the second division of meiosis in which the spindle disappears and the nucleus reforms around each set of chromosomes
2
: the final stage in the first division of meiosis that may be missing in some organisms and that is characterized by the gathering at opposite poles of the cell of half the original number of chromosomes including one from each homologous pair