FIG. 4.

Histological assessment, full cross-sections. H&E and MT staining of 8-week explants for the groups: (A, D) S; (B, E) S + ECM, and (C, F) S + ECM + D. Both qualitative (A–F) and quantitative observation (H) showed reduced fibrous encapsulation and higher cellular infiltration for the S + ECM and S + ECM + D groups when compared to the S group. (G) Examples of collagen/scar area segmentation performed by the developed algorithm. Dotted line indicates the visible part of the scaffold perimeter, n ≥ 3/group, *p < 0.05. H&E, hematoxylin and eosin; MT, Masson' trichrome. Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/tea