Abstract
Collagen organization has been analyzed at both external and internal scales by combining Stokesvector
polarimetry and second harmonic generation microscopy. A significant linear relationship
between the diattenuation and the external collagen organization was found. The dominant
orientation of the collagen fibers was found to run parallel to the axis of diattenuation. Information on
the collagen chirality was obtained from the circular dichroism, which showed also a strong
dependence with the internal collagen organization. The results show that certain polarimetric
parameters might be useful to extract quantitative information and characterize collagen arrangement.