AN IMPROVED TECHNIQUE FOR VISUALLY CONTROLLED PINEALECTOMY IN THE RAT

An improved method for pinealectomizing rats and other small laborator y rodents is described which avoids bleeding and allows excision of th e organ under exact visual control. After removing a small piece of th e skull dorsal to the confluence of the transverse and dorsal sagittal sinuses, the latter is ligated and cut. The underlying pineal gland i s then exposed and may be excised reliably without damage to the gland tissue or to adjacent brain structures. Intra- and post-operative com plications are extremely rare.