ABSTRACT
Bone marrow (BM) examination has a central role in the diagnosis of hematologic and infectious disease, and for staging potentially metastatic neoplasms. Assessment of BM to investigate possible lytic lesions or metastatic neoplasms constitutes a secondary indication. However, BM aspiration and biopsies are invasive procedures and, therefore, indications should be clearly established. In people, coagulopathy is considered cause to avoid BM aspiration or biopsy and it has also been advised to delay marrow aspiration until a coagulopathy is controlled in veterinary patients. For core biopsy a longer and wider needle suitable for cutting a core of BM containing trabecular bone with interspersed hematopoietic and adipose tissue is required. Biopsy sections of BM allow determination of cellularity, cell density, and adequacy of iron stores, and identification of fibrosis, lymphoid aggregates, megakaryocyte clustering, metastatic tumors, and other focal lesions. Erythroid hypoplasia is characterized by normal to decreased BM cellularity with relative or absolute reduction in erythroid cells.
