NONSURGICAL UTERINE STAGE PREIMPLANTATION EMBRYO COLLECTION FROM THE COMMON MARMOSET

A nonsurgical technique for the recovery of uterine stage preimplantation embryos was developed for the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). In 54 flush attempts, using 19 different animals, 54 morphologically normal embryos, seven unfertilized oocytes or degenerate embryos, and five empty zonae pellucidae were recovered, giving a recovery rate of 1.0 embryo per flush or 1.2 ovulation products per flush. Because the ovarian cycles of common marmosets can be synchronized with prostaglandin PGF2 alpha, multiple marmosets can be flushed in a short period, providing age-matched embryos for controlled experiments.