IV. Anaphase
After metaphase is complete, the third stage of mitosis, called anaphase, begins. Here, sister chromatids are pulled apart toward opposite sides, or poles, of the cell. This ensures that the two resulting daughter cells end up with the same number of chromosomes as the original cell.
Figure 7. In this illustration of anaphase, the third stage of mitosis, the sister chromatids (each half of the orange X) separate towards opposite poles pulled by the blue spindle fibers.
