Dr. Amanda, does this make sense? I"m sure it does, I'm just not understanding or explaining it well.
Makes sense..here is a little medical reading for Saturday morning to explain what bone marrow is and why bone marrow tests are done! (Note this is for humans but is the same for our pug friends!!)
What is bone marrow?
Bone marrow is a soft fatty tissue found inside of the body's bones - such as the sternum (middle of the chest), pelvis (hip bone), and femur (thigh bone). Fibrous tissue in the marrow supports stem cells, which are large "primitive" undifferentiated cells. As needed, the stem cells differentiate to become a particular kind of cell - a white blood cell, red blood cell, or platelet. Normally, only mature cells are released from the marrow into the blood stream.
Any disease or condition that causes an abnormality in the production of any of the mature blood cells, or their immature precursors, can cause a bone marrow disorder. A variety of things can go wrong, including:
• the overproduction of one type of cell; this crowds out and decreases the production of the other cell types.
• production of abnormal cells that don't mature or function properly.
• cell compression caused by an overgrowth of the supporting fibrous tissue network, resulting in abnormally shaped cells and decreased numbers of cells.
• one cell line that becomes predominant because the cells don't die at a normal rate.
• the decreased production of cells, or the rapid loss of cells because they are fragile.
• insufficient iron available to create normal red blood cells (those produced may be microcytic).
• Diseases that may spread to the bone marrow, affecting cell production and maturation
Bone marrow tests are performed for many reasons, but the commonest ones are:
• Detecting bone marrow involvement by a cancer - many cancers, notably lymphomas spread from their primary site to different organs of the body, including the bone marrow. A bone marrow test can tell whether the cancer has spread to the marrow.
• Detecting cancers of the blood - blood cancers or leukemias are diagnosed mainly be detecting cancer cells in the marrow.
• Finding the cause of anemia - some individuals may have anemias that are not correctly diagnosed unless a bone marrow biopsy is performed.
• Bone marrow infiltration by other diseases - certain infections and metabolic disorders may infiltrate the bone marrow. A bone marrow test can help diagnosing such disorders.
