Overview
Bone marrow aspiration and bone marrow biopsy are procedures to collect and examine bone marrow — the spongy tissue inside some of your larger bones.
Bone marrow aspiration and bone marrow biopsy can show whether your bone marrow is healthy and making normal amounts of blood cells. Doctors use these procedures to diagnose and monitor blood and marrow diseases, including some cancers, as well as fevers of unknown origin.
Bone marrow has a fluid portion and a more solid portion. In bone marrow aspiration, a needle is used to withdraw a sample of the fluid portion. In bone marrow biopsy, a needle is used to withdraw a sample of the solid portion.
Bone marrow aspiration can be performed alone, but it’s usually combined with bone marrow biopsy. Together, these procedures may be called a bone marrow exam.
Why it’s done
A bone marrow exam offers detailed information about the condition of your bone marrow and blood cells.
Your doctor may order a bone marrow exam if blood tests are abnormal or don’t provide enough information about a suspected problem.
Your doctor may perform a bone marrow exam to:
- Diagnose a disease or condition involving the bone marrow or blood cells
- Determine the stage or progression of a disease
- Determine whether iron levels are adequate
- Monitor treatment of a disease
- Investigate a fever of unknown origin
A bone marrow exam may be used for many conditions. These include:
- Anemia
- Blood cell conditions in which too few or too many of certain types of blood cells are produced, such as leukopenia, leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia, thrombocytosis, pancytopenia and polycythemia
- Cancers of the blood or bone marrow, including leukemias, lymphomas and multiple myeloma
- Cancers that have spread from another area, such as the breast, into the bone marrow
- Hemochromatosis
- Fevers of unknown origin
