Whole Central and Peripheral Nervous System Mice Dissection

J Vis Exp. 2023 Feb 24:(192). doi: 10.3791/64974.

Abstract

Animal models represent the workhorse of the neuroscience field. Despite this, today, there is still no step-by-step protocol to dissect a complete rodent nervous system, nor is there a complete schematic representing it that is freely available. Only methods to harvest the brain, the spinal cord, a specific dorsal root ganglion, and the sciatic nerve (separately) are available. Here, we provide detailed pictures and a schematic of the central and peripheral murine nervous system. More importantly, we outline a robust procedure to perform its dissection. The 30 min pre-dissection step allows isolating the intact nervous system within the vertebra with muscles free of viscera and skin. A 2-4 h dissection follows it under a micro-dissection microscope to expose the spinal cord and the thoracic nerves, and finally peel the whole central and peripheral nervous system off the carcass. This protocol represents a significant step forward in studying the anatomy and pathophysiology of the nervous system globally. For example, the dissected dorsal root ganglions from a neurofibromatosis type I mice model can be further processed for histology to unravel changes in tumor progression.

Publication types

  • Video-Audio Media
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Brain
  • Ganglia, Spinal / pathology
  • Ganglia, Spinal / surgery
  • Mice
  • Peripheral Nervous System*
  • Sciatic Nerve / surgery
  • Spinal Cord*