Rat Gastrocnemius Muscle Fiber Bundle Dissection

Begin by transferring the excised hind limb of a rat to a 60 milliliter Petri dish containing three milliliters of ice-cold Relax solution. Next, carefully lift the achilles tendon with forceps. Using iris scissors, dissect the muscles away from the bone.

With a stereo microscope, identify and separate the entire gastrocnemius muscle. Using fine tip forceps, transfer the lateral muscle head to a new Petri dish with ice-cold Relax solution. Gently hold the muscle with forceps on one end and separate the muscle into bundles using micro scissors.

Finally, transfer the fiber bundles to a new Petri dish containing two milliliters of ice-cold Relax solution.