Neural Cell Counting: Cell Number Determination in Microplate Cultures

The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the reader to standard procedures for quantifying the number of neural cells in microcultures. The chick embryo was chosen as the source of neural cells, because embryos can be conveniently grown in an inexpensive laboratory incubator, in large, replicate numbers with defined developmental stages. Also, chicken embryos are used by many investigators as a routine source of peripheral and central nervous system tissue. Nevertheless, the procedure outlined can be adapted to neural cells from any source.