Dissecting Embryonic Organs

Viscera

More developing vertebretes, once taken out of their egg (or with mammels the brutal buisness of getting the embryo out of their mom/decidua), look roughly the same for some bottleneck of time.

They are surrounded by a yolk sac, which you can peel off with tweezers to reveal the embryo.

To isolate organs, use fine tweezers to cut at the mouth above the trachea/esophagus. Then along down the spine, and finally cut back out at the rear legs.

Remove the head, spine, and appendages. Now you’ve isoalted the viscera! From here you can start to isolate individual organs.

Lung

Chick day 5

Mouse day 11

Heart

Gut

Kidney

Form and Tips

• Get your back straight, like you are working on your posture, and your elbows firmley on the table that the dissecting scope is on. This will help stabilize your arms.

• If you find yourself starting to shake, drink a large glass of water. If you normally have caffine, try having some caffine.

• Frequently transfer your tissue to new dishes with new media, just a slight amount of cells can make the media turbid, which can have a surprisingly effect on your eyes and your ability to dissect, even when you can’t notice it.

  • For the same reason, frequently remove excess tissue from the dish you are dissecting in.

• If lab is distracting you, wear headphones, and listen to something that helps you get into a flow. Audiobooks, music, radio recordings of the aurora borealis, whatever.