Femke Mathot

Chapter 5 86 Figure 3. Macroscopic images of nerve samples obtained with conventional digital photography. Microvessels could be clearly seen in the control nerve at 12 weeks (A), nerve autograft at 12 weeks (B) and nerve autograft at 16 weeks (C). Sutures that are used to repair the graft are visible in nerve autograft groups (B+C) and depict the border of the analyzed frame. Nerve samples are positioned from proximal to distal (left to right respectively). Scale bar is set at 1 millimeters (mm). Figure 4. Vascular volume of control and nerve autograft samples at 12 and 16 weeks using micro CT. Results are expressed as a percentage (vessel %) of the total nerve area and are given as the mean ±SEM. *Indicates significance at p<0.05. Figure 5. Vascular surface area of control and nerve autograft samples at 12 and 16 weeks using digital photography. Results are expressed as a percentage (vessel %) of the total nerve area and are given as the mean ±SEM.