Figure 5.

Gross morphological assessment of cartilage degeneration. Gross morphological assessment was performed on both the medial and lateral sides of femoral condyles according to the following criteria after Indian ink staining: grade 1, no staining by Indian ink; grade 2, surface retains ink as elongated specks or light gray patches; grade 3, surface retains ink as intense black patches; grade 4, loss of cartilage exposing the sub-cartilaginous bone; grade 4a, 0 mm < erosion ≤2 mm; grade 4b, 2 mm < erosion ≤5 mm; grade 4c, 5 mm < erosion. L-PRP, leukocyte- and platelet-rich plasma; P-PRP, pure platelet-rich plasma; CAPE, caffeic acid phenethyl ester. * p<0.05 compared with the control group; ^# p<0.05 compared with the L-PRP group (n=40).