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Bone Marrow Biopsy

Bone Marrow Biopsy Introduction

Bone marrow is the spongy material found in the center of most large bones in the body. The different cells that make up blood are made in the bone marrow. Bone marrow produces red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Along with a biopsy (the sampling of mostly solid tissue or bone), an aspiration (the sampling of mostly liquid) is often done at the same time.

  • Why the procedure is performed: A bone marrow aspiration and biopsy procedure is done for many reasons.

    • The test allows the doctor to evaluate your bone marrow function. It may aid in the diagnosis of low numbers of red blood cells (anemia), low numbers of white blood cells (leukopenia), or low numbers of platelets (thrombocytopenia), or a high number of these types of blood cells.

    • The doctor can also determine the cause of some infections, diagnose tumors, determine how far a disease, such as lymphoma, has progressed, and evaluate the effectiveness of chemotherapy or other bone marrow active drugs.

  • Where the procedure is performed: Bone marrow aspirations and biopsies can be performed in doctor's offices, outpatient clinics, and hospitals. The procedure itself takes 10-20 minutes.

Risks

You will be asked to sign a consent form before the procedure. You will be notified of the alternatives as well as the potential risks and complications of this procedure.

Possible risks include these:

  • Pain after the procedure



Next: Bone Marrow Biopsy Preparation »

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Bone Marrow Biopsy

Anemia Overview

Anemia describes the condition in which the number of red blood cells in the blood is low. For this reason, doctors sometimes describe someone with anemia as having a low blood count. A person who has anemia is called anemic.

Blood is comprised of two parts; a liquid part called the plasma and a cellular part. The cellular part contains several different cell types. One of the most important and most numerous cell types is the red blood cell. The other cell types are the white blood cells and platelets. Only red blood cells are discussed in this article. The purpose of the red blood cell is to deliver oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body.

Red blood cells are produced through a series of complex and specific steps. They are made in the bone marrow (inner part of some bones that make most of the cells in the blood), and when all the proper steps in their maturation are complete, they are released into the blood stream. The hemo...

Read the Anemia article »



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