A Dissection Method to Harvest Murine Popliteal Draining Lymph Nodes for Ex Vivo Imaging

For popliteal draining lymph node harvest, apply mineral oil to the calf and knee on the injected side of the animal. Next, make a midline incision in the calf from the heel to the knee, and dissociate the calf musculature from the skin.

Expose the popliteal fossa. The popliteal lymph node will appear as a translucent sphere within the fossa. Then, remove the lymph node with the microsurgery curved forceps.