Fig. 5

Histological analysis of bone cell markers and vascularization: To grade the defect healing (a), 3 stained sections per animal were observed by 3 blinded observers and rated according to Huo et al. [29] (mean ± SD, Mann-Whitney test). To investigate bone cell markers and vascularization, number of osteoblasts (b), osteoclasts (c), and vessels (d) were counted in the defect area 6 weeks after implantation (mean ± SD, 2-sided Student’s t-test). No significant difference could be shown between the groups