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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Jan 9.
Published in final edited form as: Methods Enzymol. 2010;476:329–349. doi: 10.1016/S0076-6879(10)76019-5

Figure 19.2.

Figure 19.2

Example for dissecting E8.25–E8.75 embryos for static culture (bottom right embryo ~16 somites). Uteri are removed and placed in dissection medium in a culture dish. The embryos are dissected out by first cutting perpendicular to the uterus between implanted embryos using dissection scissors. Using forceps, the uterus is removed from the decidua, and the distal portion of the uterus is removed by holding one portion of the decidua with one pair of forceps, and gently pulling of the other part of the decidua away from the embryo with another pair of forceps. This is done around the embryo, and what remains is the embryo attached to the ectoplacental cone. The parietal endoderm and Reichert’s membrane are removed, and a portion of the ectoplacental cone can be pared down and placed adjacent to the sticky sides of the Mat-Tek® culture dish glass bottom microwell to prevent drift.