Meiosis is a type of cell division occurring only in sex cells or gametes (such as spermatozoa and ova) that involves a single parent cell dividing to produce four daughter cells. A diagram showing the different stages of the process of meiosis. What this means is that the sex cells also undergo the cell cycle and they have the interphase as well as the M-phase too therefore the M-phase of the cell cycle in sex cells (or gametes) is called Meiosis just as the M-phase of the cell cycle in somatic cells is called Mitosis. When the egg meets and fused with the spermatozoon, a zygote is formed and the process of forming a fetus to a baby starts. For the female, when the egg (ovum) matures and is released without meeting the spermatozoon, it will disintegrate and flow out of the female body in the process of menstruation (menstrual cycle). When the spermatozoa or ova are not dividing, they will continue to grow to maturity in where they are stored. In the sex cells (gametes), the cell cycle occurs too. This is what happens in somatic cells (body cells). When the cell has not received a signal (that is when no cell is damaged) what the cells do is to continue their normal functions in the body (this is the interphase phase of the cell cycle). All this process occurs when the cell receives a signal to enter the M-phase of the cell cycle. The surrounding healthy cells of the damaged tissue will divide to replace the damaged ones. When the body needs to replace a damaged part of the mouth or gastrointestinal tract or part of the skin, the body initiates the process of Mitosis in the cells of that tissue. There are two types of cells in the body: the sex cells (involve in the production of the spermatozoa in males and also involved in the production of ova or eggs in females) and the somatic cells (the body cells that make up different cells and tissues of the body). For you to better understand what meiosis is all about, you need to understand the types of cells in the body. It is part of the cell cycle too just like mitosis.

Prophase 1 and 2