An Internet atlas of mouse development

A prototype two- and three-dimensional color atlas of mouse development is described. The prototype has been developed using two embryos, a 13.5 d normal mouse embryo and a PATCH mutant embryo of the same age. Serial sections of the embryos, with an external registration marker system, introduced into the paraffin embedding process, were prepared by standard histological methods. For the 2D atlas, color images were digitized from 100 consecutive sections of the normal embryo. For the 3D atlas, 300 gray scale images digitized from the mutant embryo were conformally warped and reconstructed into a 3D volume dataset. The external fiducial system facilitated the three-dimensional reconstruction by providing accurate registration of consecutive images and also allowed for precise spatial calibration and the correction for warping artifacts. The atlases, with their associated anatomical knowledge base, will be integrated into a multimedia on-line information resource via the Internet's World Wide Web (WWW) using an enhanced (patent pending, Eòlas Technologies) version of the Mosaic WWW browser program from the National Center for Supercomputer Applications. These programs will provide research biologists with a set of advanced tools to analyze normal and abnormal development.