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Figure 1 Photomicrographs show rabbit iliac arteries stained with Verhoeff’s tissue elastin stain after balloon denudation and stent implantation. Seven days after stenting, a thin cellular neointima separates the lumen from the internal elastic lamina in uncoated stents (A) and stents coated with poly(lactide-co--caprolactone) (B). In arteries receiving stents coated with poly(lactide-co--caprolactone) containing paclitaxel (C), no intimal thickening is seen although the media retains its cellularity. Fifty-six days after balloon denudation and stent implantation, neointimal thickening had progressed in uncoated stents (D, G) and stents coated with poly(lactide-co--caprolactone) (E, H) but remained almost undetectable in stents coated with poly(lactide-co--caprolactone) releasing paclitaxel (F, I). Original magnifications: A to F = 150x, G to I = 18x.