ABSTRACT
A rm grasp of basic histotechnological practices is required before meaningful information may be obtained from the microscopic analysis of tissue structure. This principle is especially true for specimens harvested from developing mice. Relative to adult mice, samples from developing animals are much more liable to collapse or fragment when manipulated during histotechnological processing because of their small size and relatively high water content. Nonetheless, with regular practice researchers should be able to obtain suitable data (and publication-quality images) via microscopic examination of tissues from developing mice. The length of this practice period may be shortened considerably if the individual directly responsible for histotechnological processing is either a trained histotechnologist or is able to observe someone who is already experienced in the processing of specimens from developing mice.
