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Bone Marrow Aspiration and Biopsy

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What is bone marrow?

The soft material in the center of bones is the bone marrow. In some bones, the bone marrow consists only of fat. Other bones contain what is termed cellular marrow. The cellular marrow has different types of cells that give rise to red cells, white cells and platelets for our blood. The marrow may also contain abnormal cells, proteins, or inflammatory processed that are not normally present, such as cancer cells. Since the production of red cells requires iron, the marrow is one of the places in the body that normally stores a supply of iron.

What is a bone marrow procedure?

A bone marrow procedure (commonly referred to as a bone marrow or bone marrow aspiration) is a technique used to obtain the blood-forming portion (marrow) of the inner core of bone for examination in the laboratory or for transplantation. The bone marrow consists of inserting a special needle into a bone that contains marrow and withdrawing the marrow by suction or coring out a sample of the marrow.

Why are bone marrows done?

Most bone marrows are performed to diagnose various conditions that affect the different types of blood cells. Abnormal blood counts can lead a doctor to suspect that there may be a problem in the bone marrow. Another frequent purpose of a bone marrow is to diagnose certain cancers or to determine the extent of the cancer (cancer staging) within the bone marrow. Bone marrow procedures can also detect uncommon conditions, including abnormal proteins (such as in amyloidosis), inflammation (such as in sarcoidosis), and infection (such as in tuberculosis). This procedure can also be used to obtain marrow for transplantation.