A method for dissection of discrete regions of rat brain following microwave irradiation

A simple microdissection technique for obtaining discrete areas from rat brains exposed to microwave irradiation is described and illustrated. Using the atlas of Pellegrino et al. [10] as a guide, stereotaxically defined areas were removed from coronal sections prepared with sectioning stages constructed from microscope slides. The dissection of sixteen discrete regions is shown in photographic and schematic form. This technique may prove useful for examining neurochemical processes in discrete areas of the rat central nervous system and may aid in establishing the distribution of pharmacological and toxicological agents at a neuroanatomical level.