Fig. 3. Box and whisker plots of plasma cytokines. The top line of the box represents the 75th percentile, the bottom line represents the 25th percentile, and the middle line represents the 50th percentile or median. The whiskers represent the range. Sample 0 = baseline; sample 1 = after aortic cross-clamp release; sample 2 = 2 h after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB); sample 3 = 24 h after CPB. *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01 within group compared with baseline. IL = interleukin; TNF = tumor necrosis factor; TNFsr2 = TNF soluble receptor 2; IL-1ra = interleukin 1 receptor agonist.