Multinucleate cells (also called
multinucleated or
polynuclear cells) are
eukaryotic cells that have more than one
nucleus per cell, i.e., multiple nuclei share one common
cytoplasm.
Mitosis in multinucleate cells can occur either in a coordinated, synchronous manner where all nuclei divide simultaneously or asynchronously where individual nuclei divide independently in time and space. The multinucleate stage in the
life cycle of some organisms is called
plasmodium.