Embryo manipulation after mid-gestation stages in mice

The system for directly manipulating mammalian embryos is an advantage not only to revealing the various developmental evidences but also in evaluating the availability of possible techniques for fetal surgery. "Exo utero development in mice" was reported by Muneoka et. al. and has been one of the most useful techniques in experimental embryology \ including developmental neurobiology and prenatal plastic surgery for malformations. We have applied this method to establish experimental animal models with congenital disorders and examined the mechanisms of normal and abnormal morphogenesis. In this paper, we would like to introduce the technique of exo utero development in combination with a microinjection system in mice embryos.