Fig. 5

a Growth plate histomorphological changes of chondrocytes and blood vessels in the tibia (longitudinal section) for the thiram induced and Ex-FABP supplementing broiler chicken groups of days 6 and 15. Ex-FABP was injected in groups A, B, and C (0, 20, 50 μg^·kg⁻¹ respectively). D, E, and F (0, 20, 50 μg^·kg⁻¹ respectively). Whereas groups D, E, and F were given a diet containing 100 mg^.kg⁻¹ thiram. (A) H&E staining photographs of chondrocytes (Pre-hypertrophic zone) for days 6 and 15. NC, normal chondrocytes; DC, destroyed chondrocytes; RC, recovered chondrocytes. (B) H&E staining photographs of blood vessels (Hypertrophic zone) for days 6 and 15. NV, normal blood vessels; DV, destroyed blood vessels; RV, recovered blood vessels. (C) Zone-wise distribution of growth plate. AC, articular cartilage; PZ, proliferative zone; HZ, hypertrophic zone; CZ, calcification zone. b The histomorphological based quantification of chondrocytes and blood vessels for the thiram induced and Ex-FABP supplementing broiler chicken groups of days 6 and 15 using ImageJ software. Ex-FABP was injected in groups A, B, and C (0, 20, 50 μg^·kg⁻¹ respectively). D, E, and F (0, 20, 50 μg^·kg⁻¹ respectively). Whereas groups D, E, and F gave a diet containing 100 mg^.kg⁻¹ thiram. ^a–f indicates significant differences (P < 0.05). (A) Measurement of chondrocytes area (area=μm). (B) Measurement of chondrocytes area in percentage. (C) Measurement of chondrocytes circularity (area=μm). (D) The relative area of blood vessels. (E) The density of blood vessels