Bone marrow is the spongy tissue inside some of your bones, such as your hip and thigh bones. It contains immature cells, called stem cells. The stem cells can develop into the red blood cells that carry oxygen through your body, the white blood cells that fight infections, and the platelets that help with blood clotting.
If you have a bone marrow disease, there are problems with the stem cells or how they develop. Leukemia is a cancer in which the bone marrow produces abnormal white blood cells. With aplastic anemia, the bone marrow doesn't make red blood cells. Other diseases, such as lymphoma, can spread into the bone marrow and affect the production of blood cells. Other causes of bone marrow disorders include your genetic makeup and environmental factors.
Symptoms of bone marrow diseases vary. Treatments depend on the disorder and how severe it is. They might involve medicines, blood transfusions or a bone marrow transplant.
- Bone Marrow Disorders(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/conditions/bone_marrow_disorders.html
- Bone Marrow Aspiration and Biopsy(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/bone_marrow/test.html
- Complete Blood Count(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/cbc/test.html
- How Are Myelodysplastic Syndromes and Myelodysplastic/Myeloproliferative Diseases Diagnosed?(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_3X_How_is_myelodysplastic_syndrome_diagnosed_65.asp?sitearea=
- Platelet Count(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/platelet/test.html
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Chronic Myeloproliferative Disorders (PDQ): Treatment
(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/myeloproliferative/patient/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/pdq/tratamiento/trastornosmieloproliferativos/patient/ - General Approach to Treatment of MDS (Myelodysplastic Syndrome)(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_4x_General_Approach_to_Treatment_of_MDS.asp?sitearea=
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Long-Term and Late Effects of Treatment for Childhood Leukemia or Lymphoma(Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) - Links to PDF - http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/attachments/National/br_1184160690.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/attachments/National/br_1208890616.pdf
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MedlinePlus: Bone Marrow Transplantation(National Library of Medicine) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bonemarrowtransplantation.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/bonemarrowtransplantation.html
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Myelodysplastic Syndromes (PDQ): Treatment(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/myelodysplastic/patient/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/pdq/tratamiento/sindromemielodisplasico/patient/
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Myelodysplastic/Myeloproliferative Diseases (PDQ): Treatment(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/mds-mpd/patient
Also available in Spanish http://www.cancer.gov/espanol/pdq/tratamiento/enfermedadesmielodisplasicas/patient
- Amyloidosis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/amyloidosis/DS00431/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
- Detailed Guide: Myelodysplastic Syndrome(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/CRI_2_3x.asp?dt=65
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Essential or Primary Thrombocythemia(Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) - Links to PDF - http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/attachments/National/br_1178803674.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/attachments/National/br_1208890996.pdf
- Idiopathic Myelofibrosis(Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) - Links to PDF - http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/attachments/National/br_1190656475.pdf
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Inherited Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes(National Cancer Institute) - http://marrowfailure.cancer.gov/AMEGA.html
- Myelodysplastic Syndromes(Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation) - http://www.aamds.org//aplastic/disease_information/about_the_diseases/meylodsyplastic_synd.php
- Myelofibrosis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/myelofibrosis/DS00886/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
- Myeloproliferative Disorders(Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) - http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org//all_page.adp?item_id=311829
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Polycythemia Vera(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/blood/825.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/common/blood/825.printerview.html
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Polycythemia Vera(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/poly/poly_whatis.html
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Thrombocythemia and Thrombocytosis(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/thrm/thrm_what.html
- Normal Bone Marrow and Lymphoid Tissue(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_2_1x_Normal_Bone_Marrow_and_Lymphoid_Tissue_AML.asp
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Bone Marrow Diseases(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Bone+Marrow+Diseases%22
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Myelodysplastic Syndromes(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Myelodysplastic+Syndromes%22
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Myeloproliferative Disorders(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Myeloproliferative+Disorders%22
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Genetics Home Reference: Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=paroxysmalnocturnalhemoglobinuria
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Genetics Home Reference: Shwachman-Diamond syndrome(National Library of Medicine) - http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=shwachmandiamondsyndrome
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: The significance of bone marrow biopsy and JAK2V617F mutation in... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18701405&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Circulating tumor cells and bone marrow micrometastasis. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18698019&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Transient osteoporosis. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18664637&tool=MedlinePlus
- Bone Marrow Diseases -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=bone+marrow+diseases[majr]+NOT+(anemia[majr]+OR+leukemia[majr])+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt]))&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
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Inherited Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes Glossary of Terms(National Cancer Institute) - http://marrowfailure.cancer.gov/glossary.html
- National Marrow Donor Program: Glossary(National Marrow Donor Program) - http://www.marrow.org/GLOSSARY/
- American Cancer Society - http://www.cancer.org/
- Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/hm_lls
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National Cancer Institute - http://www.cancer.gov/
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National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
- What Are the Key Statistics about Myelodysplastic Syndrome?(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_1X_What_are_the_key_statistics_for_myelodysplastic_syndrome_65.asp?sitearea=
- Anemia - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/anemia.html
- Bone Marrow Transplantation - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bonemarrowtransplantation.html
- Multiple Myeloma - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/multiplemyeloma.html
- Immune System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/immunesystem.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Bone Marrow Diseases is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
Bone Marrow Diseases - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/bonemarrowdiseases.html