Magnetic Resonance Imaging Analysis of Embryos

Analyzing phenotypic effects in embryos produced with directed gene manipulation is a major challenge for developmental biologists who are trained in molecular techniques but who are not well-versed in embryology. Analysis techniques that preserve the three-dimensional (3-D) integrity of the specimen while also demonstrating internal structural detail provide an advantage for researchers who are not prepared to study hundreds of optical histological sections and mentally reconstruct the embryo. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging nondestructively generates 3-D and cross-sectional views of embryos to provide macroscopic structural detail while preserving the spatial information.