Fig. 3.

Mineral distribution in the O-BDEM. (A&B) 3D representations of the calcium (Ca) distribution and phosphorus (P) distribution in a small area (1.806 mm × 0.504 mm) based on the SR X-ray-induced fluorescence intensity from NET and O-BDEM. Their intensity counts are reported by the color-coding scale bar. BZ: bony zone, FZ: fibrocartilaginous zone, TZ: tendinous zone. (C&D) Line scans showed that Ca intensity and P intensity sharply increased from the tendon end to the bony end across the calcified fibrocartilage zone (CFZ), and regression analyses of region-dependent distribution of Ca and P in O-BDEM reveal an exponential fit at this CFZ. The blue dotted line indicates the “tidemark”. CFZ: calcified fibrocartilaginous zone, UFZ: uncalcified fibrocartilaginous zone.