民事诉讼是指法院在当事人和其他诉讼参与人的参加下，审理解决民事纠纷的活动以及由这些活动所引起的诉讼关系或产生的诉讼法上的权利义务关系的总称。在中国，民事诉讼主要包括以下几个主要阶段：

1. 起诉与受理：原告向有管辖权的法院提交诉状和证据材料，请求保护其合法权益。如果符合法定条件，法院将予以立案并通知被告应诉。
2. 送达与答辩：法院将原告的诉状副本送达给被告，并要求其在一定期限内作出书面答辩。否则，法院可能根据原告的诉讼请求做出缺席判决。
3. 举证期限与证据交换：双方需要在法院指定的时间内完成举证工作，包括提供证据清单、证人名单等。之后，可能会进行证据交换，以确定争议焦点。
4. 开庭准备：在正式庭审前，法官会组织双方当事人召开庭前会议，就无争议事实和证据达成共识，明确争点，为庭审做好准备。
5. 庭审：庭审中，原被告双方对案件事实进行陈述、辩论，出示证据，并接受对方质证。法官在此过程中主持法庭调查和法庭辩论。
6. 调解与和解：在庭审过程中或者庭审结束后，法院可能会组织调解，鼓励双方通过协商解决问题。若达成协议，则制作调解书；若未成功调解，则进入下一环节。
7. 宣判：经过审理后，法院将依法作出一审判决，并在规定时间内送达给双方当事人。如一方不服，可在上诉期内提起上诉。
8. 执行程序：如果一方当事人不履行生效的法律文书确定的义务，另一方可以通过申请强制执行来实现自己的权益。
9. 再审程序：如果当事人认为已经生效的裁判存在错误，可以在法定期限内提出申诉，启动审判监督程序（即再审）。

下面是一个简化的民事诉讼流程图：

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    |             ----> | ----->  |                   ---> |
    |    起诉    |       |       |  送达与答辩      |       |
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    |        ---------------- | ----------------  |       |
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