Abstract—Existing methods for the colorimetric (diphenylamine) determination of DNA content of brain have been modified for preserved cerebral hemispheres. On the average, right and left hemispheres (rat and chicken) contained similar amounts of DNA and one hemisphere could serve as a control for the other. All comparisons have been made with the values obtained for frozen brains (‘controls’). Preservation in 10 % (v/v) buffered formalin for 1 month introduced significant differences for both neonatal and adult cerebral hemispheres. On the other hand, preservation in 75 % (v/v) aqueous ethanol for 1 month did not introduce any significant differences in any of these determinations. Embedding in paraffin and subsequent clarification (removal of paraffin) did not further affect the DNA values of cerebral hemispheres preserved in formalin. Consequently it was possible to determine DNA in histological sections at the desired planes or even in parts of the sections. Micro‐modifications have been devised to determine colorimetrically the total DNA content of small brains (e.g. tadpoles) or of small parts of larger brains, as low as 25 μg of DN