You searched for: “metaphase
metaphase (s) (noun), metaphases (pl)
The second stage in the cell cycle, or the sequence of events in the lives of cells in the body: "Metaphase is preceded by the prophase (the first stage of cell division) and followed by the anaphase (the stage of cell division in which the chromosomes move away from each other to opposite poles of the spindle or the slender mass formed as a cell divdes)."