Cleavage may refer to:

Science

Cleavage (crystal) Cleavage, in mineralogy and materials science, is the tendency of crystalline materials to split along definite crystallographic structural planes. These planes of relative weakness are a result of the regular locations of atoms and ions in th ...

, the way in which a crystal or mineral tends to split *

Cleavage (embryo) In embryology, cleavage is the division of cells in the early development of the embryo, following fertilization. The zygotes of many species undergo rapid cell cycles with no significant overall growth, producing a cluster of cells the same s ...

, the division of cells in an early embryo *

Cleavage (geology) Cleavage, in structural geology and petrology, describes a type of planar rock feature that develops as a result of deformation and metamorphism. The degree of deformation and metamorphism along with rock type determines the kind of cleavage fe ...

, foliation of rock perpendicular to stress, a result of ductile deformation *

Cleave (fiber) A cleave in an optical fiber is a deliberate, controlled break, intended to create a perfectly flat end face perpendicular to the fiber's longitudinal axis. The process of cleaving an optical fiber forms one of the steps in the preparation for ...

, a controlled break in an optical fiber *

Bond cleavage In chemistry, bond cleavage, or bond fission, is the splitting of chemical bonds. This can be generally referred to as dissociation when a molecule is cleaved into two or more fragments. In general, there are two classifications for bond cleava ...

, in chemistry and biochemistry, the splitting of chemical bonds *

Cleavage factor __NOTOC__ Cleavage factors are two closely associated protein complexes involved in the cleavage of the 3' untranslated region of a newly synthesized pre-messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule in the process of gene transcription. The cleavage is the firs ...

, a protein complex that helps cleave of a newly synthesized pre-messenger RNA (mRNA) *

Cleavage furrow In cell biology, the cleavage furrow is the indentation of the cell's surface that begins the progression of cleavage, by which animal and some algal cells undergo cytokinesis, the final splitting of the membrane, in the process of cell divisio ...

, in cell biology, the indentation that begins the process of cleavage, by which animal cells undergo cytokinesis *

Proteolysis Proteolysis is the breakdown of proteins into smaller polypeptides or amino acids. Protein degradation is a major regulatory mechanism of gene expression and contributes substantially to shaping mammalian proteomes. Uncatalysed, the hydrolysis o ...

, also called peptide cleavage, the breaking down of proteins

Anatomy

Cleavage (breasts) Cleavage is the narrow depression or hollow between the breasts of a woman. The superior portion of cleavage may be accentuated by clothing such as a low-cut neckline that exposes the division, and often the term is used to describe the low nec ...

, the partial exposure of breasts or their intervening gap. *

Buttock cleavage Buttock cleavage is minor exposure of the buttocks and the intergluteal cleft between them, often because of low-rise pants. History When faced with indecency issues back in the 1930s, W. G. Cassidy explained in an essay titled "Private Parts: ...

, the minor exposure of the buttocks and the gluteal cleft between them * Toe cleavage, the partial exposure of toes in shoes * Teeth cleavage or tooth cleavage, slang for

diastema A diastema (: diastemata, from Greek , 'space') is a space or gap between two teeth. Many species of mammals have diastemata as a normal feature, most commonly between the incisors and molars. More colloquially, the condition may be referred to ...

, the gap between a person's two front teeth

Other uses

Cleavage (politics) In political science and sociology, a cleavage is a historically determined social or cultural line which divides citizens within a society into groups with differing political interests, resulting in political conflict among these groups. Social ...

, the divisions of society that cause people to vote differently

Science

Anatomy

Other uses

See also