Obtaining Cerebellum Slices from an Embryonic Chick Brain

Take a fertilized hen's egg at a suitable stage of development.

Cut the shell to access the embryo.

Locate and dissect out the head, then, transfer it to a Petri dish containing chilled phosphate buffer.

Remove the eyes and jaws.

Separate the skin from the surface of the skull.

Next, cut and remove the skull bones.

Clear the surrounding connective tissue to expose the brain.

Separate the forebrain.

Then, detach the cerebellum from the hindbrain and the blood vessel.

Transfer the cerebellum into a chilled salt buffer.

The embryonic cerebellum contains a layer of rapidly dividing neuronal progenitor cells, which makes it valuable for neurogenesis studies.

Place the cerebellum on the platform of a tissue chopper.

Remove excess buffer and slice the cerebellum.

Put chilled salt buffer on the slices.

Transfer the cerebellum slices to a Petri dish containing chilled salt buffer.

Under a microscope, separate individual slices for further analysis.