Morphology of supravital brain slices pre-incubated in a physiological solution prior to fixation.

Slices of 400 microns thickness were prepared from various regions of the adult rat brain using a vibratome, and incubated in oxygenated Krebs-Henseleit medium for 3 h prior to processing for light and electron microscopy. Previous findings in cerebellar slices suggest that the structural recovery requires at least a 1 h period of incubation. In the present study, vibratome-cut slices of other brain areas such as the hippocampus, parietal cortex, striatum and median eminence were shown to display after this period a gross and fine structure comparable to in situ fixed tissues, and to retain it for at least 3 h of incubation. These areas are thought to be promising for further in vitro functional morphological experimentation.