前期是有丝分裂时染色质凝聚为高度有序并显微镜下可见的染色体的阶段。该过程称为染色质凝聚，由凝聚蛋白复合体调控。由于遗传物质已在细胞周期较早阶段复制，此时细胞每一染色体都有两份相同拷贝。相同染色体又称姊妹染色单体，由着丝粒相互连接 。前期中，可用吉姆萨染色标记染色体上的G显带。前期大概占细胞周期的3%。前期的英文来自与古希腊文πρό与φάσις组合而成，意味之前的阶段。

后生动物的微管组织中心中心体在有丝分裂中起到重要作用，前期中，两中心体微管活性因γ-微管蛋白含量增加而增加。由于微管上分子马达的影响，中心体分别移动至细胞两极。核膜随后分解使微管与染色体上动粒相链接。核膜裂解标志着前期的结束，随后在中期染色体将会被微管所捕获。

Prophase (from the Greek πρό, "before" and φάσις, "stage"), is a stage of mitosis in which the chromatin condenses into double rod-shaped structures called chromosomes in which the chromatin becomes visible. This process, called chromatin condensation, is involved with the condensin complex. Since the genetic material has been replicated in the prior interphase of the cell cycle, there are two identical copies of each chromosome in the cell. Those copies are called sister chromatids and they are attached to each other at a DNA element present on every chromosome called the centromere. Also during prophase, giemsa staining can be applied to elicit G-banding in chromosomes.