A retaining sphenoid and dura procedure in the rat to obtain intact pituitary-infundibulum-hypothalamus preparations.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The histopathological study of brain tissue is a conventional method in neuroscience. However, procedures specifically developed to recover intact hypothalamic-pituitary brain specimens, are not available. NEW METHOD: We describe a detailed protocol for obtaining intact rat brain with pituitary-hypothalamus continuity through an intact infundibulum. The brain is collected via a ventral approach through removing the skull base. Membranous structures surrounding the hypothalamus-pituitary system can be preserved, including vasculature. RESULTS: We report a retaining sphenoid and dura technique to obtain intact hypothalamic-pituitary brain preparations, and we confirm the practicability of this method. By combination of this technique with histological analysis or 3D brain tissue clearing and imaging methods, the functional morphology structure of the hypothalamus-pituitary can be further explored. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD: The current procedure is limited in showing the connection between the hypothalamus and the pituitary. Our procedure effectively protects the integrity of the fragile infundibulum and thus prevents the pituitary from separating from the hypothalamus. CONCLUSIONS: We present a convenient and practical approach to obtain intact hypothalamus-pituitary brain specimens for subsequent histopathological evaluation.