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Chapter 8222By using prosthetic landmarks (ramal screw holes, the subcondylar tunnel), anatomical landmarks (infra-orbital rim, teeth) and the reconstructed STL files of the post-mortem CT scans using Mimics inPrint 3.0 (Materialise, Haasrode, Belgium), section planes were determined in order to further trim the samples while retaining both the LPM and its attempted enthesis reconstruction. After marking these planes onto the samples, sections were made using the cutting and grinding technique with an Exakt 300 diamond band saw (EXAKT Advanced Technologies GmbH, Norderstedt, Germany) at Morphisto GmbH (Frankfurt, Germany). Next, the condylar head was resected to allow for wear evaluation.(27) After performing a radiological analysis of the attempted enthesis reconstruction(16) five specimens showing radiographic signs of osteointegration were selected for further histological evaluation. On imaging a unique bony contact of the enthesis against the scaffold was seen in two of these sheep, whereas in the other three samples a partial bony and soft tissue reattachment of the enthesis against the scaffold was revealed.(16) These selected samples were slowly dehydrated for seven days by immersion in baths with an increasing concentration of alcohol. The samples were pre-infiltrated during 3 weeks and then infiltrated over a period of 20 days, using Technovit 9100 (Kulzer GmbH, Wehrheim, Germany). Several sections were made using the cutting and grinding technique with an Exakt 300 diamond band saw and 400 CS Micro Grinder machine (EXAKT Advanced Technologies GmbH, Norderstedt, Germany), until the correct height (e.g. enthesis’ scaffold) was obtained. Through the use of Technovit 9100-embedding, a relatively limited thickness of 40-42 µm was achieved. Next, a Masson-Goldner (M-G) trichrome staining was applied, allowing to differentiate tissues such as collagen, bone and muscle by means of light microscopic analysis. (28) In addition, a section was made at the level of the ramal scaffold in two randomly selected specimen, in order to evaluate the bony ingrowth of the mandible into the ramal component. Nikolas de Meurechy NW.indd 222 05-06-2024 10:14