ABSTRACT
Prehistory to 1945 One of the earliest references to the therapeutic properties of bone marrow can be found in the early Irish epic tale The Tain bo Cuailnge derived from an ancient pre-Christian oral tradition. The charioteer Cethern, severely wounded and depleted of blood in battle, is treated by the healer Fingin: the treatment involves a three-day bath in bone marrow. According to the legend, this renewed Cethern’s strength sufficiently to allow him to resume fighting although its long-term success cannot be evaluated since the hero was overwhelmed in battle shortly afterwards [1]. With the growing perception in the 19th century that the bone marrow was in some way responsible for blood formation came the idea that bone marrow might have healing properties and could be useful in the treatment of anaemia. It was at this time, for example, that the health tonic derived from bone marrow fats ‘Virol’ became popular (Figure 1.1). In 1896, Quine reported that Brown Sequard and D’Arsenoval administered bone marrow orally in 1891 to treat defective
blood formation [2]. Further attempts using a glycerol extract of animal bone marrow administered orally to treat pernicious anaemia were made [3]. The rationale of treatment with bone marrow was to provide missing nutrients. However, Billings in 1894 and Hamilton in 1895 were sceptical and attributed any positive effects of treatment to the mineral content of the elixir [4,5].
