Fig. 3

Micro-computed tomography (µCT) of biopsies from both intersegmental gaps. The fibula–mandible intersegmental zone shows a less compact and more heterogenous structure (mixture of dark and bright grey areas) in the µCT. The structure of the fibula–fibula intersegmental bone sample demonstrates similar characteristics as fibula cortical bone with a homogenous structure. The histological observations (HE and Picro-Sirius Red) demonstrated a similar microstructure of both samples from the intersegmental zones. No differences in the shape of type I (yellow–red) or type III (green) collagen fibers were noted. Created with Biorender.com