Figure 3.

Analysis of the connective tissue properties related to an immunoreaction including the macroscopically evaluable optical densities, the cross-sectional areas and thicknesses, and the numbers of activated macrophages. (a) The unfolded connective tissues were classified in three categories (mostly translucent, partly translucent and opaque, and predominantly opaque). In the EO group, opaque tissue was found at every time point whereas specimen of the β group were predominantly translucent and partly opaque. The classification is presented as percentages per group (0-100%) and was not subjected to statistical analysis. Concerning the evaluated cross-sectional areas (b) and thicknesses (c) as well as the numbers of ED1-immunopositive (ED1⁺) cells (d), no significant differences were found between both groups (both groups: n=6 at 16, 36, 56 weeks; EO: n=3 at 76 weeks; β: n=6 at 76 weeks). Steady values in cross-sectional areas and thicknesses combined with low numbers of activated macrophages do not indicate an increased immunoreaction. Two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's multiple comparison was used for statistical analysis of the results (∗p<0.05 versus 16 weeks within the same group). Results are displayed as median±range.