We have devised a general strategy for gene mapping based upon the direct amplification of a target sequence within a single microdissected Giemsa-banded chromosomal segment using the polymerase chain reaction. The usefulness of this approach was demonstrated by mapping a cloned human brain sodium channel (alpha subunit) gene sequence to chromosome 2q22-q23. When DNA from single, dissected chromosome segments 2q21-qter and 2q24-pter were used as templates, a sodium channel-specific 172-base-pair polymerase chain reaction product was obtained. This product was not synthesized when segments 2q21-pter and 2q24-qter were used. Chromosome microdissection-polymerase chain reaction is not only a simple, fast, and accurate method for gene mapping but also may offer significant advantages for other applications, such as cancer cytogenetics and linkage analysis.