Contrast-Enhanced Microtomographic Characterisation of Vessels in Native Bone and Engineered Vascularised Grafts Using Ink-Gelatin Perfusion and Phosphotungstic Acid

Figure 2

Analysis of small epiphyseal vessels in femoral heads and tibia plateaus. 3D rendering (a) and 2D slice (b) of contrast-enhanced scans showing contrasted vessels (red arrows) and vessel branching (white arrows). (c) H&E staining showing ink-gelatin filled vessels (arrows) and bone trabeculae (star). Large cutting artefacts are visible (circle). (d) Diameter of the epiphyseal vessels measured by histology and microtomography (, ). (e) Illustrative histogram of vessel diameters () of a single femoral head showing a unimodal distribution, which is shifted left for histological data. (f) Closest distance of vessel center and bone trabeculae measured by histology and microtomography.

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