Prenatal Mouse Embryos Retrieval: A Procedure to Harvest Embryos from Pregnant Mouse

Clean dissecting scissors and forceps with 70% ethanol. To collect perinatal embryos at E18.5 or E19.5, first, euthanize pregnant mice using carbon dioxide inhalation. Then, perform cervical dislocation according to NIH guidelines.

Next, spray 70% ethanol on the ventral abdominal surface of the animal. Then, using the sterile dissecting scissors and forceps, open the abdominal cavity eventually. Lift the entire uterus and separate it from the body at the tips of the uterine horns. Then, rinse the entire uterus with 1x PBS in a Petri dish.

Cut the uterus segmentally with dissecting scissors and remove the placental decidua with dissecting forceps to expose the embryos in yolk sacs. Remove the yolk sac first and then remove the amniotic membrane with dissecting forceps to liberate the perinatal embryos.