What appear to be numerous cytoplasmic fragments can be seen in the upper left-hand corner of the field of view at the beginning of the video. Such fragments can be produced due to the inability of an actively migrating cell to release all of its adhesions to the substratum or by the breaking apart of a cell following its death. However, when the small sections of cytoplasm seem to suddenly snap into a nearby cell, it becomes clear that they were not really fragments at all, but rather were connected to the cell via extremely thin strands of material.

When the previously mentioned cell travels across the upper field of view, it displays the basic shape assumed by many migrating animal cells in culture. As demonstrated, the leading margin of the cells is generally broad, being comprised of flattened lamellipodia. The other sides of the cells project backwards from the anterior end, seeming to be dragged along by the activity along the front edge. The narrow tail that can be observed is commonly called a retraction fiber. Intermittently the retraction fiber releases its grip on the substratum and is contracted back into the central region of the cell.

The MDBK cells located in the right-hand side of the field of view have formed a relatively stable colony. This form of organization is common among cultured epithelial cells, which exhibit strong contact inhibition of migration. Even when they are connected to other cells, however, epithelial cells are dynamic entities that can change shape, position, and generate large-scale group movements.