Removing the Fetus from the Dam for Harvesting the Fetal Brain and Serum

To remove the fetus from the properly euthanized dam, place the animal ventral side up in a 100-millimeter dish. Pinch the skin covering the abdomen, and with dissection scissors, make a midline incision. Make additional incisions perpendicular to the midline incision to create skin flaps, exposing the uterus containing the fetuses.

Pull the uterus out of the abdominal cavity. Using scissors, disconnect the uterus from the dam. Transfer the intact fetal sac containing the fetuses, resembling pearls on a string, into cold sterile PBS in a dish.

Place the dish of fetuses on ice to eventually harvest fetal serum and brain.