Fig. 7

Normalization to tendon diameter decreases differences between groups regarding mean intensity and cell nuclei area. (A-C) Mean intensity of collagen 1, collagen 3, and elastin normalized to their tendon diameter. There was a significant effect of load levels on collagen 3. (D) Percentual area covered by cell nucleus normalized to tendon diameter. Dots represent individual values for each tendon and the black line represents the mean for each group. ¤ denotes a significant difference from reduced loading at the equivalent time point; and a denotes a significant difference by time compared to 3 weeks.