Histology and Infarct Volume Determination

While there are many and in part very different staining protocols for determining and calculating infarct volumes after experimental stroke in rodents, this plethora can ultimately be reduced to a few basic methods, such as histological staining, contrast-enhanced staining, immunohistochemistry, and enzyme histochemistry. In this chapter, each of these will be briefly introduced with an exemplary protocol. Since each method requires specific tissue pretreatment and consequently determines the possibility of performing additional investigations, all options should carefully be considered before starting with the experiments. Although each of the methods has its advantages and disadvantages and there is no “best” solution, the preparation of serial cryostat sections clearly offers the most options. Other frequently used and practicable methods of brain tissue preparation – fixation, storage, and slicing – are nevertheless also discussed. Finally, the basics of infarct volume calculation are presented. Attached are the most important protocols and their potential pitfalls.