A simple method for shell-less cultivation of chick embryos.

The chorio-allantoic membrane of explanted chick embryos can be used for the study of vascular development and of the vascular response to drugs and to tissue implants or tissue extracts. Three different types of vials for shell-less cultivation of chick embryos were compared in terms of short-term survival. Plastic cups with rounded bottoms were superior to Petri dishes and polyethylene film bags, in that they combined a high survival rate of the embryos with a possibility of using a large number of embryos in each experiment. With the use of plastic cups this method is simple, reliable and inexpensive.