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 the ...

, in mineralogy and materials science, a process of splitting a crystal * Cleavage (geology), the foliation perpendicular to stress as a result of ductile deformation *

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 size ...

, in embryology, the division of cells in the early embryo *

Cleavage (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 ...

, in optical fibers *

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 cleavag ...

in chemistry and biochemistry, the splitting of chemical bonds * Cleavage factor * In cell biology, the cleavage furrow is 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. Uncatalysed, the hydrolysis of peptide bonds is extremely slow, taking hundreds of years. Proteolysis is typically catalysed by cellular enzymes called protease ...

, also called peptide cleavage, the breaking down of proteins

Anatomy

* Cleavage (breasts), the partial exposure of the gap between a woman's breasts *

Buttock cleavage Buttock cleavage is minor exposure of the buttocks and the intergluteal cleft between them, often because of low-rise pants. The ''crena'' is a formal term for the cleft between the buttocks. History When faced with indecency issues back in the ...

, the minor exposure of the buttocks and the gluteal cleft between them *

Toe cleavage Toe cleavage is the partial exposure of toes in shoes that are cut low enough at the vamp. Low cut shoes reveal toe cleavage similar to how low cut tops reveal breast cleavage. Toe cleavage is considered to be fashionable by stylists such as Sus ...

, the partial exposure of toes in shoes * Teeth cleavage or tooth cleavage, slang for

diastema A diastema (plural diastemata, from Greek διάστημα, 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 ...

, the gap between a person's two front teeth

Other uses

* Cleavage (politics), the divisions of society that cause people to vote differently

Science

Anatomy

Other uses

See also