Abstract

Skin is perhaps the easiest human tissue to sample for establishing long term cultures, unless tissues are avilable from surgical procedures for other reason. In diseases of the hemopoietic system, chromasome aberration are usually confined to cells orignating from this syatem. In these casea, it is necessary to exclude a generalized chromosomal aberration by analysis of fibroblasts. Skin fibroblast culture is also useful for the examinations of fetal tissue and autopsy material, when only solid tissue is usually available. Fibroblast culture sometimes provides an alternative clinical diagnostic method in cases in which lymphocyte cultures repeatedly fail owing to adverse blood conditions. Certain experimental investigations, far example, studies of selection and resistance, radia- tions or virus effects are often not feasible in blood cells, and fibroblast cultures are prefer- able. Skin pinch-biopsies were taken from the forearm, reduced to small pieces, and set up in vitro in a nutrient medium. Skin fibroblasts were cultured in 5% CO2 37`C incubator for the analysis of chromosomal Q-banding patterns and establishing standard method of culture technique.