Bone biopsies are procedures done to test for diseases affecting the bones. For patients with a fracture, bone biopsies are done to evaluate possible disorders that may have caused the fracture or any complications associated with the break. A...
Physicians use bone marrow biopsies to diagnose blood diseases such as low blood cell counts, blood cancers or blood infections. A bone marrow biopsy is a short procedure and usually takes about 15 minutes to complete. During the procedure, the...
Leukemia is a cancer of the blood, bone marrow and lymphatic system. In leukemia, the bone marrow produces an abnormally large amount of white blood cells and the white blood cells do not function properly. Symptoms of leukemia include fatigue,...
Bone marrow is the spongy tissue found in the center of bones. It is responsible for making red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Marrow is mainly found in flat bones such as the skull, ribs, vertebrae, shoulder blades, hip bones,...
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...
Bone tissue is constantly being remodeled and repaired by the body. Various disorders can damage bones and result in bone lesions. Symptoms include bone pain or tenderness, and the injury can only be seen using special imaging tests.
A bone marrow aspiration and biopsy both classify as procedures to test the spongy tissue inside the larger bones of the body. These tests determine the health of the marrow as well as checking for certain cancers and marrow diseases. The bone...
Merck Manuals, an online medical library, reports that multiple myeloma is a form of cancer in which plasma cells become cancerous. Plasma cells are a relatively rare type of blood cell, making up less than 1 percent of total blood cells. However,...
Osteosarcoma is a type of bone cancer. Bone cancers are rare; only about 2,000 cases are diagnosed yearly in the United States, according to MayoClinic.com. Osteosarcoma makes up approximately 35 percent of these bone cancers, making it the most...
Paget's disease is a chronic condition that affects bone growth. There is an increase in both the breakdown and formation of bone tissue, which leads to deformed bones. Alkaline phosphatase is often elevated in, but not exclusively to, this disease.
The skeletal system consists of 206 bones held together and mobilized by ligaments, muscles and tendons. The bone marrow in the center of the bone makes red blood cells and stores minerals such as calcium and phosphorus. Disease processes...
Osteosarcoma is a form of bone cancer that predominantly affects children and teenagers. Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer and is the sixth most common type of cancer in children, according to Kids Health. Doctors use surgery and...
Cellulitis is a deep bacterial infection of the skin. It can occur in any part of the body, but according to the Children's Hospital of Boston, it usually involves the face, arms, legs or any site that has sustained trauma. Trauma allows bacteria...
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that acts as both a hormone and a vitamin. Vitamin D deficiency occurs when there is too little vitamin D in the blood, which can lead to two disease processes: rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults....
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin found in several food sources such as fish, eggs and fortified milk. However, vitamin D can also be received via sunlight. In fact, vitamin D is commonly referred to as the sunshine vitamin. MedlinePlus says...
With osteoporosis, bones become less dense, which weakens them and makes them brittle and more prone to fracture. During childhood and early adulthood, bone density increases steadily, peaking around age 35. From middle age on, everyone...
Many different conditions and ailments can contribute to leg aches and pain. Leg pain may affect a small, specific area or may radiate to different areas. While most leg pain is not due to severe conditions, you should see a doctor if you...
Alkaline phosphatase is an enzyme that can be found in many of the body's tissues, but its highest concentration is inside bone and liver cells and in the bile ducts. It is a useful test to evaluate childhood liver and bone conditions, especially...
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps build the immune system and regulates calcium, as well as bone growth and development. Children's need for vitamin D is high during adolescence becuase children are constantly growing and developing....
Joint pain -- also called arthralgia -- can develop anywhere bones are attached to each other, such as your elbows, knees, ankles, hips and shoulders. Joint pain with involuntary weight loss can indicate a variety of underlying medical conditions....
Bone marrow contains red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. To help diagnose blood and bone marrow diseases as well as infections, a physician may perform a bone marrow aspiration or biopsy. A large needle is inserted into the bone, and...
Bone cancer destroys healthy bone tissue and forms a malignant bone tumor. While there are many cases of bone tumors, most are not cancerous and do not destroy bone tissue. The American Cancer Society reports that cases of cancerous bone tumors...
Bone marrow aspiration is often one of the first aspects of a bone marrow test. With a bone marrow aspiration, a doctor uses a syringe with a large, hollow needle to extract some of the liquid bone marrow from the body. The bone marrow is often...
Adult men have the diagnosis of anemia if their hemoglobin level is below 13.5g/dL, and women are anemic if their level is below 12g/dL, according to Charles Linker, M.D., clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, in "Current...
Your body uses vitamin B12 to manufacture red blood cells and maintain healthy nerve tissue. A B12 deficiency may take up to five years to manifest. Symptoms of this type of deficiency include fatigue, weakness, pale skin, heart palpitations and...
Bone marrow, the spongy inner part of bones, produces platelets, red blood cells and white blood cells. Bone-marrow testing assesses the health of a patient's bone marrow. Sampling of bone marrow requires either a biopsy or aspiration procedure....
As medicine and science begin to better embrace the basic vitamins and minerals our bodies need for good health, there are often reports about these nutritional supplements being a treatment or cure for new conditions and diseases. Vitamin B12 has...
There are approximately 8,000 new cases of Hodgkin's disease every year, according to Carol Portlock, M.D., attending physician of the Lymphoma Service at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in "The Merck Manual for Healthcare...
There are two main categories of lymphomas; Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, or NHL, has many subtypes, but it is a type of cancer that starts in cells called lymphocytes that are involved in the immune...
Bone infections are caused by bacteria and can be treated with antibiotics, get expert tips and advice on medical treatments in this video.
