Fig. 4.

a Representative photograph showing the examples of sizes of infarct volume in different groups. Brain slices stained with 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) were from three groups: sham, MCAO, and IsoPC (isoflurane preconditioning plus MCAO), respectively. b Histograms showing the comparison of percentages of infarct volume among the three groups at the three corresponding time points (n = 8 for each group). Data are presented as mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05 compared with the MCAO group. c Comparisons of neurological scores among sham, MCAO, and IsoPC (isoflurane preconditioning plus MCAO) groups at each time point. Each circle represents the score for a single rat (n = 8 for each group). The horizontal bar indicates the median value of each group. *p < 0.05 compared with the MCAO group