Figure 2. Histological evaluations of skeletal muscle tissue. Representative skeletal muscle sections were obtained 3 h after sham surgery or ischemia-reperfusion (IR). A, Section from sham-operated group. B, Section from IR group. C, Section from ischemic postconditioning (IPO) group. All of the sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Scale bar=5 μm. Skeletal muscle IR resulted in significant injury as demonstrated by skeletal muscle cells edema, sarcoplasm dissolution and necrosis, interstitial vessel hyperemia and hemorrhage, and neutrophil infiltration. However, IPO treatment ameliorated severe skeletal muscle damage. Note that there were significant differences in the changes of histological properties between sham-operated, IR, and IPO groups. D, Roach DM score for acute skeletal muscle lesions from sham-operated control (C), IR, and IPO groups (n=36). Data are reported as means±SD. ^★P<0.01 vs sham-operated group; ^▾P<0.01 vs IR group (one-way ANOVA).