This article details the surgical technique for harvesting palate tissue from a euthanized mouse. It describes the necessary steps to ensure the tissue is collected without contamination for further analysis.
In mammals, the palate, the roof of the mouth, is divided into two parts - hard palate and soft palate. The soft palate, the posterior muscular part of the palate, is continuous with the hard palate, the anterior bony part of the palate. To harvest the palate tissue, begin with a euthanized mouse in the supine position. Next, shave the area around the animal’s mouth.
Now, make surgical incisions from the cheek towards the jaw on both sides of the mouse. Open its mouth wide and sterilize the palate area. Further, make a marginal incision along the palate side between the two sides of the maxillary dental arch.
Carefully lift the portion of the hard palate mucoperiosteum - connective tissue covering the bones of the hard palate formed by the union of mucous membrane with the dense fibrous connective tissue, the periosteum. This step facilitates the detachment of the hard palate from the underlying bony structures and further releases the soft palate from the oral cavity.
Immediately transfer the harvested palate into a tube containing suitable media supplemented with antibiotics and antimycotics to prevent bacterial and fungal contamination within the tissue. Store the tissue at lower temperatures until further processing.
After sacrificing an adult C57BL/6J mouse, remove the hair around the mouth with a shaver, and using scissors, cut from the cheeks toward the jaw on both sides. Next, use forceps to open the mouth wide and absorb any blood using a cotton swab. Then, disinfect the palate by wiping the inside of the mouth with a cotton swab containing 10% povidone-iodine.
To harvest the mouse palate, first, using a surgical scalpel blade, make a full-thickness marginal incision along the palate side of the maxillary teeth. Then, using a raspatorium, carefully dissect the entire palate. Quickly transfer the palate tissue to a 15-millimeter tube containing 4 milliliters of complete medium supplemented with antibiotics and antimycotics.
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