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I found that some books include cytokinesis within mitosis, but some other books I have referred to include only the dividing of the nucleus as mitosis and do not include cytokinesis.

Can anyone help me out? Please include a source in your answer.

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up vote 2 down vote accepted

Cytokinesis is separate from mitosis.

What edition are you looking at? To quote from the Fourth Edition:

The cell cycle culminates in the division of the cytoplasm by cytokinesis. In a typical cell, cytokinesis accompanies every mitosis, although some cells, such as Drosophila embryos (discussed later) and vertebrate osteoclasts (discussed in Chapter 22), undergo mitosis without cytokinesis and become multinucleate. Cytokinesis begins in anaphase and ends in telophase, reaching completion as the next interphase begins.

The mouse-over definition of cytokinesis there is:

Division of the cytoplasm of a plant or animal cell into two, as distinct from the division of its nucleus (which is mitosis)

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Oh! I got confused between M phase and mitosis. – biogirl Sep 8 '13 at 14:47

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