Behaviour of Intracerebral Autografts of Mouse Tail Skin pre-treated with a Single Application of 20-Methylcholanthrene

Abstract

THIERSCH grafts of tail skin from 30 mice of various strains and both sexes were implanted intracerebrally in an attempt to produce an expanding, space-occupying, intracranial lesion, and to investigate its effect on the surrounding brain, with particular reference to ‘cerebral oedema’. The autografts, which were cut with a Castroviejo keratome set to a thickness of 0.2 mm, measured approximately 3 mm × 1 mm. Immediately after removal they were inserted into the right cerebral hemisphere with a blunt probe, through a small hole made over the lateral aspect of the skull with a dental burr. All operative procedures were performed under ‘Nembutal’ anaesthesia.