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By Mayo Clinic staffBone marrow biopsy and bone marrow aspiration offer detailed information about the condition of your bone marrow and blood cells. Your doctor may order a bone marrow exam if blood tests, such as cell counts, are abnormal or don't provide enough information about a suspected problem. Examining bone marrow gives a detailed picture of the types, amount and condition of forming blood cells.
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
- Check iron levels and metabolism
- Monitor treatment of a disease
Bone marrow biopsy and aspiration may be used for many conditions. These include:
- Anemia
- Bone marrow disorders, such as myelodysplastic syndrome and myelofibrosis
- 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 breast, into the bone marrow
- Hemochromatosis
- Infections
A bone marrow biopsy and a bone marrow aspiration offer different, but complementary, information about your bone marrow cells. The two procedures are most often performed together. In some cases, you may need only an aspiration.
- What are bone marrow tests? National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/bmt. Accessed Nov. 4, 2011.
- Ryan DH. Examination of the marrow. In: Lichtman MA, et al. Williams Hematology. 8th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2010. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=69. Accessed Nov. 4, 2011.
- Gomella LG, et al. Bedside procedures (bone marrow aspiration and biopsy). Clinician's Pocket Reference. 11th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2694363. Accessed Nov. 4, 2011.
- Mesa RA (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Ariz. Nov. 14, 2011.
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