Nanozoomer digital pathology microscope

To examine the general healing process in wounds with exposed cartilage, we compared the granulation ability of wounds with and without the perichondrium in the control group. Subsequently, we compared the ability of the PAT graft and control groups to form granulation tissue in perichondrial defects. Granulation tissue is defined as connective tissue comprising new capillaries, spindle cells, mononuclear inflammatory cells, and neutrophils. A blinded pathologist measured granulation tissue formation in the wounds. The vertical and horizontal growth abilities of the granulation tissue were assessed by measuring the thickness and length of the tissue in the histological images stained with H&E. Each wound was divided into 2 mm segments, with the central 10-mm area designated as the perichondrial defect and the outer 10-mm area as the healthy perichondrium (Fig 1B). The segment with the greatest growth thickness in each region was analyzed. The thickness and length of the granulation tissue were measured using a Hamamatsu NanoZoomer digital pathology microscope (Hamamatsu Photonics, Hamamatsu City, Japan).

After dialysis, brain tissues were stained with cresyl violet to detect the surgery position. Briefly, rats were anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium (50 mg/kg, i.p.) and perfused with 0.9% saline and 4% paraformaldehyde to fix the brain tissue. After that, the brain was immersed in 4% paraformaldehyde for 24 h, and dehydrated with 30% sucrose for 24 h. Brain tissue was embedded in O.C.T compound (SAKURA) and sectioned into 30 μm-thick sections using a freezing microtome (Leica, Germany). The Nissl staining protocol was performed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Images were captured using a NanoZoomer Digital Pathology microscope (Hamamatsu Photonics, Japan). The injection site of the guide cannula, which was not in the mPFC, was deleted.