The Virtual Mouse Necropsy
This is it!!! Perform
a Mouse Necropsy on the Web!!!
So put on your latex
gloves, prepare your autopsy board, and go get your saline rinse,
because it is time to perform a virtual mouse necropsy.
Disclaimer:
This necropsy guide is intended only as a Guide. It does not claim
to provide all approved terminology for tissues and organs. Nor
is it responsible for the accuracy of its diagrams. Please report
all suggested improvements to the authors shown below.
References
Some Tissue Trimming Procedures
This is the first
interactive mouse necropsy site on the web. Designed to aid the
researcher in learning and practicing the correct methods of retrieving
tissues and examining mouse anatomy, this site is not only educational,
but fun too!! Obviously, the procedures within this site can be
useful in the necropsies of other species as well. So don't feel
limited if you work with rabbits, hamsters, rats, etc. You still
might learn something by browsing our pages.
The links can be visited
in a few different ways. By starting with the Step 1:Your Very Own Mouse Starter
Kit, you can perform
the necropsy step by step. Or if you are only interested in a
specific organ system, just click your mouse (no pun intended)
on the link that most suits you. Within each link are detailed
explanations of the necropsy process and close up labeled pictures
of major organ systems. Feel free to explore at your leisure.
Also included on this
site are tools to aid the researcher during a real world necropsy.
Print out the necropsy
sheet which contains
a check list of steps, room to diagram, and area to write observations.
The necropsy sheet is a no frills link, so feel free to print
it out and use as is. There is also a list of terms
you might find useful when trying to describe lesions and make
observations. And last, but not forgotten, is a page devoted to instruments, fixatives,
and other handy devices
that will prove to be a "must" for any necropsy.
Quick Note: If you are planning on printing any
of these pages, go ahead and set the top and bottom margins for
0.25". For a few pages, a top and bottom margin of 0.5"
will ease any further frustration when printing. As you run across
those special pages, a note will notify you of a margin change.
Have Fun!!!
Site designed,
written, and selected pictures illustrated by Erin
Parsoneault, inspired
by D.E.Devor-Henneman, and edited/mentored byDr. J.M.Ward