A process of somatic cell division which produces daughter nuclei which are identical genetically to one another and to the parent nucleus. They contain the same number of chromosomes. Mitosis produces genetically equivalent cells in the growing somatic region of organisms. It is a process by which the diploid stage of a cell is maintained, i.e., there is no reduction in chromosome number. The five main stages are prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase.