A laboratory demonstration for learning about mast cell degranulation.

A simple experimental model of cell degranulation was implemented that exposed mast cells obtained from Sprague-Dawley rats to saponin. The model is flexible, asy, and low cost, is not very time-consuming to run, and needs a minimum of laboratory resources. It has been used for the last three years in our undergraduate medical physiology courses and has replaced the classic utilization of slides and drawings.