Human chromosomes and spindle at metaphase

Human chromosomes (blue) in the metaphase stage of mitosis. They are attached to the spindle which will contract and pull the two sets of chromosomes apart into opposite poles of the cell prior to cytokinesis. The centromeres (green) are the points on a chromosome that attach to the spindle. This image is a maximum-intensity projection of deconvolved 3D data sets from a restoration microscope.