FIG. 5.

Age-dependent integration of bovine meniscus. (A) H&E staining of the injury site at week 8 shows signs of repair in fetal and juvenile tissue, but not in adult tissue (scale bar = 200 μm). Lower right: Picrosirius Red staining of 8 week juvenile sample viewed under polarized light reveals lack of collagen continuity at the injury site (arrows). (B) Integration strength as a function of meniscus age with time in culture. Integration strength increases significantly for fetal and juvenile samples, but not for adult samples. (C) Mechanical testing results demonstrating variability in response between specimens. n = 7–12. *Significant difference (p < 0.05) from week 0. ^#Significant difference (p < 0.05) compared to adult week 8 (w8). Color images available online at www.liebertonline.com/ten.