Mucins were quantified in the colon of the control, sham and experimental groups using a computer-assisted image analysis. Briefly, an image analysis system consisting of an Olympus camera mounted on a microscope sent the images to a monitor using a computer-controlled (Pentium 1330 MHz) digitizing system (Oculus TCX, Coreco Inc., St. Laurent, Quebec, Canada). The images were processed by Image-Pro Plus 7.0 software (Media Cybernetics, Inc., Bethesda, MD, USA). For each lamina, three crypts per field were measured, and six fields per sheet from the control, sham and experimental groups were analyzed at a magnification of x400. The mucin content in this compartment was expressed as the number of mucins divided by the total area studied. The final results were expressed as the number of mucins per total area. The measure of the tissue content of Picrosirius Red was analyzed with the same methodology as described above utilizing a polarized light.