Skull Clearing
Skull Clearing - Related Videos
10:03
Multiphoton Microscopy of Cleared Mouse Brain Expressing YFP
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Cited by 11 •
2012
Multiphoton microscopy of whole mouse organs is possible by optically clearing the organ before imaging, but not all protocols preserve the fluorescent signal of fluorescent proteins. Using an optical clearing method with ethanol-based dehydration and benzyl alcohol:benzyl benzoate clearing, we show high-resolution multiphoton images of whole mouse brain expressing YFP.
01:22
Sutures of the Skull
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2025
The human skull is composed of several bones that come together to protect the brain and support the structures of the face. The junctions where these bones meet are called sutures. Sutures are immobile joints between adjacent bones of the skull. The narrow gap between the bones is filled with dense, fibrous connective tissue that unites the bones. The long sutures located between the skull bones are not straight but instead follow irregular, tightly twisting paths. These twisting lines tightly...
06:28
Isolating Immune Cells from Mouse Brain and Skull
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Cited by 1 •
2024
To investigate the immune response to brain disorders, one common approach is to analyze changes in immune cells. Here, two simple and effective protocols are provided for isolating immune cells from murine brain tissue and skull bone marrow.
01:08
Overview of the Skull
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2023
The cranium (skull) is the skeletal structure of the head that supports the face and protects the brain. It is subdivided into the facial bones and the brain case, or cranial vault. The facial bones underlie the facial structures, form the nasal cavity, enclose the eyeballs, and support the teeth of the upper and lower jaws. The cranial vault surrounds and protects the brain and houses the middle and inner ear structures. This cavity is bounded superiorly by the rounded top of the skull, which...
08:30
A Method to Make a Craniotomy on the Ventral Skull of Neonate Rodents
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Cited by 6 •
2014
A surgical method is described to expose the ventral skull in neonate rats. Using this approach it is possible to open a craniotomy to perform acute electrophysiology and two-photon microscopy experiments in the brainstem of anesthetized pups.
FAQs
The key optical improvement comes from addressing two different sources of image degradation. Decalcification reduces the skull’s mineral content, while refractive-index matching alters how light travels through the remaining bone. Together, these changes can reduce light scattering and absorption, allowing fluorescence from structures beneath the skull to reach the microscope more effectively.
Mineralized bone can strongly interfere with light transmission by contributing to scattering and absorption. Reducing its mineral content through decalcification changes those optical properties and can make the preparation more suitable for imaging. The resulting improvement is especially relevant when researchers need to detect fluorescent signals originating from brain structures beneath the skull.
Preserving the skull avoids removing the bone while still making optical access possible. This matters because repeated cranial surgery can disrupt the preparation and complicate longitudinal studies. Skull clearing therefore supports repeated observation of the same brain region over time, helping researchers follow changes in cortical vasculature, neuronal activity, or other brain-related signals.
A typical preparation applies chemical or optical changes that reduce the skull’s interference with light. The approach may reduce mineral content through decalcification, alter the bone’s optical properties, and use refractive-index matching to improve light passage. After these changes, fluorescence microscopy can be used to examine structures and signals beneath the treated skull.
Fluorescence microscopy is used to visualize labeled or naturally fluorescent features beneath the prepared skull. By reducing optical interference from bone, the preparation can help the microscope detect signals associated with cortical vasculature, neuronal activity, and other brain-related structures. This makes the approach useful when researchers want optical measurements without removing the skull.
The approach can support studies of cortical blood-vessel organization, neuronal activity, and other fluorescent brain signals. Its value is greatest in experiments requiring longitudinal visualization, because the skull remains in place while optical interference is reduced. Researchers can therefore investigate neural or vascular changes across repeated observations with less disruption from recurring cranial procedures.