FIG. 6.

The evaluation for the collagen orientation of reparative tissues at 16 weeks after the operation. Sections (A, E, I, M) were immunohistochemically stained with anti-type II collagen antibodies. Scale bar: 250 μm. The sections stained with HE (B–D, F–H, J–L, N–P) were viewed with a polarized light microscope (PLM) at multiple angles (0°, 45°, 90°). (Q) The PLM qualitative scores (scoring scale range: 0–5) at 16 weeks postoperatively (n = 5). Values are mean and SD. *p < 0.05. Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/tec