In Vitro Culture of Rodent Embryos During the Early Postimplantation Period

Mammalian embryos grow within the uterus. This inaccessibility makes mammalian embryo investigations more difficult than those using non mammalian embryos. Although attempts to grow mammalian embryos outside of the uterus have appeared in the literature for many decades (see Note 1 ), a satisfactory methodology for rodent embryos was first established by the efforts of Dr. Denis New and colleagues at Cambridge University during the 1960s and 1970s (1 ). One of the many technical breakthroughs made by these investigators was the introduction of a roller bottle system (2 ), which has allowed many investigators access to a simple, reliable system (3 ). Many investigators, especially teratologists, have since participated in improving and refining rodent whole embryo culture systems.