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Hi all,

I'm curious about the difference between fresh & frozen lamb brains for dissection.......we get fresh, but as they're becoming harder to source reliably I'd like to try the Dissection Connection, set up by an ex-labbie to supply dissection organs. They come frozen, so can anyone tell me if you've used brains frozen & thawed (do they turn to mush? ) & if it's better to try for fresh.

Thanks,

We use both fresh and frozen, mainly because if I can get hold of them, I always freeze some just in case. Teachers haven't complained. No doubt they would if there was a problem.

Fresh is definately better, but we haven't been able to get fresh ones for a few years. If you can't get fresh, then there are some tips on how to make them less mushy here on chemtalk. We now use the frozen brains soaked in metho overnight which stiffens them up a bit. They lose their colour distinction though, so I keep one or two out for visual purposes. We get them for $10 for a box of 6 at a local butcher.

I have thawed brains in the past and afterwards used them for dissection.

Soaking the brains in a saturated salt solution for 9 days (turning daily, don't worry about weekends) makes the brains firm without losing their distinctive parts. They are then superb to slice.

Maree

Hi!
One of the student teachers we have had here last year, recommended "PBS" solution. She works part time in the Animal and vetinary science department at the Uni here. I haven't tried it myself but if you google "PBS" you come up with recipes for this. She said it's like a saline solution that they use and it keeps the product in better condition for several days.
I'll probably end up trying it some time this year. Maybe this is worth trying? (insert smiley that is shrugging....)

That soaking in salt for 9 days sounds good but I can't imagine ever getting 9 days notice!!

Rosalie, Right on - again!

Really I wouldn't bother with anything else other than lamb brains from the butcher. They're perfect. BTW, last time our butcher had an order of Halal brains, and he gave me two boxes. Wonderful! They were individually packed in little plastic bags, and come in a little carton of 6 or 8. They were in really good condition and there were no miscellaneous halves etc, like other times when I got a tray of brains from the butcher. So every group got an identical brain. Yay!

Thanks as always to all you Chemtalk gurus for sharing your info

This forum is amazing......post a question & answers ALWAYS appear

Love it

We get ours fresh from the butcher - I dont seee why your butchers cant supply them as people still eat them (YUCK) i know but they are sold through most butchers. My teachers like them partly frozen as they are better for the kids to disect - easier to hold etc etc. This is just a suggestion.
Never had any trouble after them been frozen then thawed out.

Kimmy

We freeze them sometimes & have never had a problem.
We also have had to freeze eyeballs,hearts,livers etc... all thaw out ok & are fine for dissection.

Maybe our teachers are fussy!
They will not dissect frozen, then thawed, brains - nor will they accept frozen/thawed eyes...

A funny story - we had an intern a few years ago - one of those people who knows everything and can't be told anything[make a GREAT teacher]..
Middle of hot summer and she wanted to dissect brains - all I had were mushy thawed ones so I tried to talk her out of it - also taking into consideration the particular class she had.
No she wouldnt listen - so I gave them to her and left the room...
After the period - I went back into the lab and found bits of brain thrown eveyrwhere around the room - on the floor, stuck to the walls , in the fish tank..Disgusting! It cant get much worse - I thought...
The next day there was a dreadful smell in that lab - there were blowies droning around and maggots on the floor...
I had missed the bits of brain that were on top of the fan blades...
uueeewie uuueewie

Oh good grief!!!

How in the hell did they manage to get it on TOP of the fan blades??? Did the silly woman spend the lesson facing the whiteboard, or was she just plain old fashioned hopeless?

Sometimes you just have to shake your head & wonder wny natural selection didn't take care of these people for us

I bet the kids had a great time Was the teacher even in the lab??

It is worth asking around the local butchers. I have found one here in Tamworth who gets brains fresh, not frozen. They are being dissected as I type. They look great! So much better than the frozen ones. I can see why teachers who have had fresh then are given frozen/thawed kick up a stink. This guy only charged $1/brain compared to the frozen ones $10 for 6. All he asked is that I give him enough notice so he doesn't put them in the freezer.

When the class was about to get started he said "When you get your brain..." and I couldn't help but think "that'll be a new experience for some of you!"

A question about the 9 days soaking in saturated salt soln.

Do I replace or refresh the salt solutiona t any stage during the 9 days?

No. As my salt solutions are saturated they become a preservative. You may wish to do it after one or two days as blood and sinew from the brain does discolour the solution. However, this does not impede the process. After the nine days just make sure that you wash the brains as best you can.
This can also be done with an ethanol solution. But the cost of salt made it my first choice and thus I have used salt for 10+ years.
Just remember to keep it all in the fridge.
Maree