What type of cells are produced by mitosis?

Mitosis is a type of cell division that produces two genetically identical daughter cells from a single parent cell. This process is essential for growth, repair, and asexual reproduction in multicellular organisms. The key characteristic of the cells produced during mitosis is that they retain the same chromosome number as the original cell. In humans, for example, this means that if a diploid parent cell, which contains two sets of chromosomes (one set from each parent), undergoes mitosis, it will produce two diploid daughter cells, each containing the same diploid number of chromosomes.

This preservation of chromosome number is crucial for maintaining genetic stability across cell generations. The other options relate to different processes: haploid cells are typically produced through meiosis, which is a different type of cell division leading to gametes, cell fragments do not represent complete, functional cells, and gametes themselves are specifically the result of meiosis as well, not mitosis. Therefore, the cells produced by mitosis are appropriately described as diploid cells.