Fig. 4: Histological analysis demonstrating no difference in smooth muscle to collagen ratio of DESwater CC.
From: Estrogenic endocrine disruptor exposure directly impacts erectile function
Sections stained with Masson’s Trichrome and imaged with SlideViewer 2.6. a ×5 magnification of control penis shaft indicating the dorsal neurovascular bundle (NV), the corpus cavernosum (CC) and urethra (U). Dotted box indicates portion of image magnified for panel (b). b ×20 magnification of the control CC. Red arrows indicate vasculature or smooth muscle. Green arrow indicates the cavernous artery. Purple arrow indicates collagen. c ×5 magnification of DESwater penis shaft. Dotted box indicates portion of image magnified for panel (d). d ×20 magnification of the DESwater CC. e Violin plot depicting no significant difference for smooth muscle (SM) to collagen ratio in DESwater CC histological samples (blue) (smooth muscle area %/collagen area %; control (red): 0.03 ± 0.01, n = 10; DESwater: 0.03 ± 0.002, n = 7; P = 0.97; unpaired, two-tailed t-test). Data expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM). ns: not significant.
