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Fig. 2 | BMC Veterinary Research

Fig. 2

From: Non-linear optical microscopy of cartilage canals in the distal femur of young pigs may reveal the cause of articular osteochondrosis

Fig. 2

Variable collagen matrix surrounding cartilage canals. Cyan: Two-photon-excited fluorescence (TPEF), Glowing red: Second harmonic generation (SHG). a Section from the medial femoral condyle of the 82 day old pig. The cartilage canals are recognized by intense TPEF signal from their blood cells and perivascular cells and surrounded by variable SHG signal. The articular surface of the cartilage is indicated by a curved line. The layer beneath this curve with absence of cartilage canals is assumed to represent the immature articular cartilage. b-d Cross-section of a cartilage canal near its distal terminus (from the dashed rectangle in a). The end of the canal is magnified in d and primarily contains capillaries with densely packed erythrocytes giving intense TPEF signal. There is no obvious difference in the SHG signal between the matrix adjacent to and far from the cartilage canal. On the other hand, more proximal to the arterial source, adjacent cell groups are associated with intense SHG, while the SHG signal between the groups is low (magnified in c). This cross-section is therefore considered to consist of two different segments, one with no change in SHG signal of the cartilage matrix as a function of distance from the canal, and one that is surrounded by cells associated with intense SHG. 10×–focusing objective was used in a, and 25×–objective was used in b-d. The bar in a corresponds to 1 mm, while the bar in b equals 100 μm

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