Harvesting Dorsal Root Ganglion from Rat Spine

Clean the dorsal skin of a euthanized rat with 70% ethanol and use scissors to remove the spine. Separate the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions, and place the spine sections in a 10-centimeter culture dish with PBS to keep the tissue samples hydrated.

Using delicate bone scissors, open the thoracic and cervical vertebral bones in the dorsal and ventral aspects to separate the spine into two lateral halves, and place the tissue sections into a clean 10-centimeter dish with fresh PBS. Using forceps, gently detach the spinal cord from the vertebral bones to visualize the dorsal root ganglions.

Placing the tips of a pair of fine forceps held under each ganglion, grasp the tissue and pull it from the bone cavity in which it is lodged. Immediately after harvesting, place each ganglion into DMEM culture medium supplemented with 2% Penicillin and Streptomycin or Pen/Strep and 10% Fetal Bovine Serum or FBS to help prevent bacterial contamination of the nerve tissues.