Fig. 2.

Nitric oxide improved collagen organization of healing Achilles tendons at day 10 in rats. The graph shows semiquantification of healing Achilles tendon collagen organization observed under polarized microscope on sections stained with hematoxylin & eosin by a blinded observer. The organization was scored from 1 to 5 based on the orientation and network structure of collagen fibers, the formation of collagen fiber bundles, and the length and diameter of the bundles, where 5 was the most mature. Values are mean ± standard deviation, n = 6 for each group. Statistical analysis was performed using Kruskal-Wallis one way analysis of variance on ranks.