A model of nuclear behaviors during tissue remodeling. At the initiation of tissue extension and intercalary behaviors, nuclear volumes are accommodated through either of two pathways—deformation or dispersion. Dispersion pathways may be more essential to intercalation as planar nuclear tensions appear to be particularly reduced by dispersion as compared to deformation. Perturbing nuclear deformation causes enhanced levels of nuclear dispersion, and blocking dispersion creates a strong block in tissue extension dynamics as nuclear crowding increases. A new “extrusion-like” phenotype arises when both pathways are made unavailable for the nuclei.