Cytology, General Histology and Embryology - V. K. Napkhanyuk 2002

Methods of Histological Research
Vital Staining Methods
In Vivo Studies of Cells within the Organism

Studying living Cells and Tissues provides the most comprehensive insight into their vital activity, allowing researchers to track Cell movement, division, degeneration, growth, differentiation, and interaction, as well as their lifespan and reactive responses to various environmental factors.

Objects for intravital study may include thin tissue membranes (such as the mesentery or a frog's web), Blood Cells, and cultured tissue cells.

One of the Methods for intravital research is the observation of structures in a living Organism (in vivo), which utilizes specialized illuminating microscopes. This technique makes it possible to study Blood Circulation in microvessels. For instance, following animal anesthesia, the study subject (the intestinal mesentery) is exposed and examined under a Microscope, though the tissues must be constantly moistened with a physiological saline solution. The duration of such observations is extremely limited.

A more effective approach involves implanting transparent chambers into the animal's body, with the rabbit's ear being the most convenient site for this Procedure. The region of the ear containing the transparent chamber is placed on the microscope stage to study the dynamics of cellular and tissue changes over an extended period.

The eye of experimental animals serves as a natural transparent chamber. Cells, tissues, and even organ samples are placed into the fluid of the anterior chamber of the eye—specifically in the angle formed by the cornea and the iris—and observed through the transparent cornea. This method has enabled the transplantation of fertilized ova and the tracking of early embryonic development stages.

Another widely used technique is the transplantation of blood and Bone Marrow cells from healthy donor animals to recipient animals that have been subjected to lethal Doses of ionizing radiation.

Analyzing colony counts and their cellular composition helps determine the number of hematopoietic stem cells and the various stages of their differentiation. The colony-forming assay has successfully established the developmental origins of all blood cell lineages.



Last update: 10/08/2026

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