The bone marrow is a tissue inside flat, irregular-shaped bones and the long bones. There is yellow bone marrow and red bone marrow. Yellow, only found in the long bones of adults, contains fat cells. Red bone marrow contains stem cells that give rise to the blood cells. A bone marrow biopsy is done to determine the cause of low numbers of blood cells.
Aplastic Anemia
This is a disorder where there are very low levels of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Chemotherapy, radiation, insecticides, chemicals toluene and benzene and certain medications can damage the stem cells within the bone marrow, according to Charles Linker, M.D., director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program at the University of California, in "Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment." But the most common cause of aplastic anemia is autoimmune, when the immune system attacks its own body instead of foreign invaders. In this case, it attacks the formation of blood cells. People may feel tired and weak, bleed easily and have an increased number of infections.
A bone marrow biopsy is done to determine why the person is anemic. The biopsy will show that there are very few stem cells and a decreased number of all types of blood cells.
Hairy Cell Leukemia
Alan Saven, M.D., director of the Green Cancer Center writes in "Williams Hematology" that hairy cell leukemia makes up approximately two to three percent of the adult leukemias in America. Six-hundred people are diagnosed with this disease every year. The average age at onset is 55, with five times more men than women developing the disease.
Leukemia is characterized by large numbers of white blood cells. In hairy cell leukemia, there are large numbers of B cell lymphocytes. These are the type of white blood cells that make antibodies. The cells fill up the bone marrow, as well as the liver and the spleen. They are called "hairy cells," because they have hairlike projections that stick out from all around the cells. The symptoms of the disease include fatigue, an increased number of infections and a feeling of being full, which comes from having an enlarged spleen. A bone marrow biopsy is necessary to determine the diagnosis and to see that there are abnormal B cell lymphocytes.
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
As explained by Carol Portlock, M.D., attending physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, in "The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals," this is a group of cancers which primarily involve the B cell lymphocytes. Only 15 to 20 percent of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma comes from NK cells or T cell lymphocytes, other types of white blood cells. The cancer can be found in the lymph nodes, spleen and bone marrow. It then spreads to the stomach, intestines and liver. The symptoms include fever, night sweats and weight loss. A lymph node or bone marrow biopsy is done to determine the stage of cancer and how far it has spread.
Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Hodgkin's is a cancer of the lymph nodes and spleen. It is one of the common cancers found in young men, but is also found in people over 50 years of age. It arises from B cell lymphocytes. Like non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the symptoms include fever, night sweats and weight loss. Many people also experience intense itching. A bone marrow biopsy must be done to determine the diagnosis and the cancer stage.
References
- "Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment 2009"; Stephen McPhee, M.D., Maxine Papadakis, M.D.; 2009
- The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals: Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas
- "Williams Hematology"; Marshall Lichtman, M.D., Ernest Beutler, M.D. et al.; 2006
