All You Need to Know About Bone Marrow Tests

Bone marrow is known to be a spongy tissue that can be found in some of the bones of the body, including the thigh and hip bones. The bone marrow tends to contain immature cells, also known as stem cells. A lot of people having life-threatening medical conditions like sickle cell anaemia, leukaemia and lymphoma reply on bone marrow transplants to survive. People require healthy bone marrow and blood cells to live. In case an ailment affects the bone marrow and it cannot function properly, a cord blood or marrow transplant needs to be done.

The bone marrow includes the following:

•  Red blood cells (also called erythrocytes) that carry oxygen from the lungs of a person to every cell of their body

•  White blood cells (also called leukocytes) that help people to fight infections

•  Platelets, that helps with blood clotting

Bone marrow tests are recommended by doctors for checking whether the bone marrow of a person is working perfectly and making the normal number of blood cells. Such tests can also help physicians to monitor and diagnose several blood disorders, bone marrow disorders, as well as certain types of cancers.  The two major types of tests related to the bone marrow are:

•  Bone marrow aspiration

•  Bone marrow biopsy

In the case of bone marrow aspiration, a small amount of bone marrow fluid is removed, while in bone marrow biopsy a small amount of bone marrow tissue is removed.  Both of these biopsy tests are typically performed at the same time.

Major uses of the bone marrow tests

•  Diagnose bone marrow disorders
•  Diagnose and monitor various types of cancers, which includes thrombocytopenia, polycythemia vera, and anaemia
•  Identify the causes of problems with platelets, white blood, and red blood cells
•  Diagnose infections that might have started or spread to the bone marrow

What happens during a bone marrow test?

•  The patient would have to lie down on their side or stomach, depending on which bone shall be used for testing. Most of the bone marrow tests are taken from the hip bone.

•  The testing site shall be cleaned with an antiseptic.

•  The patients would be injected with a numbing solution, which might sting for a bit

•  Once the testing site is numb, the relevant professional would take the sample. The patients would need to lie very still during the tests.

•  It takes about 10 minutes to perform both bone marrow aspiration and bone marrow biopsy. In case of a bone marrow aspiration, the healthcare professional shall insert a needle through the bone and pull out bone marrow fluid and cells, while for biopsy they shall use a special tool that twists into the bone to take out a sample of bone marrow tissue.

•  After the test, the healthcare professional will cover the testing site with a bandage.

People searching for ‘lab test near me’ on the web to get their bone marrow test done can easily contact any renowned service provider of diagnostic and related healthcare tests who have an expansive network of offering quality pathology and other diagnostic tests.

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Aishakapoor Joined: November 1st, 2019