[Colchicine method of determining duration of mitosis in bodily tissues].

Significant retardation of cell entering the division cycle before prophase was recorded in the tongue epithelium and exocrine cells of the pancreas after colchamine injection (4 mg/kg) to mice. The retardation occurs rather in the evening and night hours. Almost complete supression of cell entering mitosis and presumably delayed course of cell division were observed in liver parenchymal cells as a result of colchamine injection at the same hours. The data obtained call in question the feasibility of the colchamine method for determining mitosis duration in bodily tissues.