File:Mouse estrous cycle stage identification.jpg

Estrous cycle stage identification

This tool is a visual representation of cell types and relative proportion of each type present during the four stages of the estrous cycle. The lines in the circle mark where the stage of estrous changes.

The size of each quadrant (between 2 lines) is a rough estimate of the length of each stage. The total cycle takes about 4–5 days. To use this chart, vaginal cells are examined and the relative number of each cell type is determined. Then, an imaginary arrow is placed on the chart with the end on the center of the chart like a hand on a clock.

The arrow is moved clockwise until the cell types and proportion appear under the arrow. Once the arrow is placed, it points to the corresponding stage of estrous. For example, an arrow in the position of 9 o'clock represents a vaginal smear with all leukocytes and a mouse in diestrus. An arrow at 3 o'clock represents a smear with approximately half cornified epithelial and half nucleated epithelial cells and a mouse in proestrus.

Reference

<pubmed>22514749</pubmed>

Copyright

© 2012 Byers et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Fig. 1 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0035538.g001 Journal.pone.0035538.g001.jpg resized and relabelled

Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2024, April 24) Embryology Mouse estrous cycle stage identification.jpg. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/File:Mouse_estrous_cycle_stage_identification.jpg

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© Dr Mark Hill 2024, UNSW Embryology ISBN: 978 0 7334 2609 4 - UNSW CRICOS Provider Code No. 00098G