Mar 26, 2026

Public workspaceMouse Sciatic Nerve Dissection

DOI
https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.5qpvoed89l4o/v1
  • Lilia Crew1,
  • Alyssa Seerley2,
  • Serena McElroy2,
  • Andrea Grindeland Panter1,2
  • 1Touro University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Great Falls, MT, United States;
  • 2Weissman Hood Institute at Touro University, McLaughlin Research Institute, Great Falls, MT, United States
  • Lilia Crew: Co-first author;
  • Alyssa Seerley: Co-first author
  • Andrea Grindeland Panter: Senior author
Alyssa Seerley
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DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.5qpvoed89l4o/v1
Protocol Citation: Lilia Crew, Alyssa Seerley, Serena McElroy, Andrea Grindeland Panter 2026. Mouse Sciatic Nerve Dissection. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.5qpvoed89l4o/v1
License: This is an open access protocol 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
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: March 20, 2026
Last Modified: March 26, 2026
Protocol Integer ID: 313664
Keywords: sciatic, sciatic nerve, mouse models, dissection, mouse sciatic nerve dissection this protocol, mouse sciatic nerve dissection, mouse sciatic nerve, method for the dissection, mouse
Funders Acknowledgements:
NIH General Medical Sciences
Grant ID: P20GM152335
Abstract
This protocol describes a method for the dissection of a mouse sciatic nerve.
Materials
Display tray for dissections
Pins
Scissors
Thumb forceps
70% EtOH
Troubleshooting
Mouse Sciatic Nerve Dissection
Place the mouse on one of it's side and pin the feet to display tray.
Remove the skin over the quadriceps exposing the lateral surface.
Visualize the siatic nerve and do not mistake the femur or muscle fascia for the sciatic nerve, see Fig. 1.
Open surrounding muscle layers, following natural tissue separation, see Fig. 1.
Fig 1. Proper positioning of an Anesthetized Mouse for Sciatic Nerve Extraction. The mouse is placed on its side with its hind limbs extended and secured to expose the sciatic nerve pathway, ensuring accurate and efficient nerve dissection.

Once exposed, leaving nerve in place, fill the space with formalin for 30 minutes if fixation is desired. Make sure to not stretch or disturb the nerve as the sciatic nerve tissue is extremely delicate and easily damaged.
After the nerve has been fixed, cut the nerve at the head of femur down to the patella region.
Remove the nerve and preserve as desired.