Live imaging has transformed biomedical sciences by enabling visualization and analysis of dynamic cellular processes as they occur in their native contexts. Here, we review key recent efforts applying in vivo optical imaging with single-cell resolution to mammalian systems ranging from embryos to adult tissues and organs. We highlight insights into active processes regulating cell fate and morphogenesis during embryonic development, how neuronal circuitry and non-neuronal cell types contribute to neurological functions, and how novel imaging-based approaches enable the dissection of neurological disorders and cancer with high spatio-temporal resolution. The convergence of technical advancements in accessing, visualizing, and manipulating individual cells provides an unprecedented lens to probe mammalian cellular dynamics in vivo in both physiological and pathological states.

实时成像通过对动态细胞过程发生在其自然环境中的情况进行可视化和分析，从而改变了生物医学科学。在这里，我们回顾了最近在体内应用的主要工作具有单细胞分辨率的光学成像技术，适用于从胚胎到成年组织和器官的哺乳动物系统。我们重点介绍了在胚胎发育过程中调节细胞命运和形态发生的活跃过程的见解，神经元回路和非神经元细胞类型如何促进神经功能，以及基于影像学的新颖方法如何以高时空分辨率剖析神经系统疾病和癌症。在访问，可视化和操纵单个细胞方面的技术进步的融合，为在生理和病理状态下探测体内哺乳动物的细胞动力学提供了空前的镜头。