Rodent surgical procedures and tissue collection

The use of animal models for neurological investigation often requires a specific skill set that allows the investigator to adequately prepare the animal for experimental surgery, correctly collect their brain samples from the specimen, and prepare them for subsequent analysis. This chapter will provide detailed explanations for methods of rodent intubation, brain perfusion and removal, as well as the separation of the brain into anatomical sections and triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TCC) staining. Knowledge of these procedures is often necessary regardless of the specific disease processes you are modeling in the rodent: subarachnoid hemorrhage, middle cerebral artery occlusion, intracerebral hemorrhage, etc., and will therefore be useful to anyone working with the rodent models regardless of their specific area of investigation. © 2009 Humana Press.