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Counting Murine Corpora Lutea to Determine the Number of Oocytes Ovulated

  1. Richard R. Behringer2
  1. 1Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York 10032, USA
  2. 2Department of Genetics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
  1. ↵3Correspondence: vep1{at}columbia.edu

Abstract

One can determine if and how many oocytes have been ovulated in a female mouse by counting the number of corpora lutea (CL) on the ovaries during the process of preimplantation embryo collection. A simple method of harvesting the ovaries and observing with a dissecting microscope and top lighting is provided along with a description of how to recognize CL. As the embryos rarely, if ever, cross the uterotubal junction, this provides a measure of the maximum number of embryos expected to be recovered from each oviduct or uterine horn, a number that can be valuable in analyzing early lethal mutations.

Footnotes

  • From the Mouse Phenotypes collection by Virginia E. Papaioannou and Richard R. Behringer.

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  1. Published in Advance November 6, 2023, doi: 10.1101/pdb.prot107986 Cold Spring Harb Protoc © 2023 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
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