Final answer:
Mitosis and meiosis are cellular processes with stages named prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. Meiosis includes two rounds of division, meiosis I and II, with each round going through these stages distinguished with 'I' or 'II.' Meiosis I is unique for homologous chromosomes pairing and crossing over.
Step-by-step explanation:
The stages of mitosis are prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase; while meiosis occurs in two rounds, namely meiosis I and meiosis II, each having the corresponding stages of prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase with a preceding Roman numeral (e.g., prophase I).
In brief, meiosis I is characterized by events such as homologous chromosomes pairing up during prophase I and crossing over, while meiosis II is similar in mechanics to mitosis but without the replication of DNA. Metaphase I of meiosis features chromosomes aligning in homologous pairs along the metaphase plate, whereas in metaphase II and mitotic metaphase, individual chromosomes line up. In anaphase I, these pairs of chromosomes are pulled apart, contrastingly, in anaphase II and mitotic anaphase sister chromatids are separated. Telophase I and II reform the nucleus and relax the chromosomes, similar to mitotic telophase.