Re: Bone marrow volume
Steven Gore (sdgore@welchlink.welch.jhu.edu)
Tue, 21 Jan 1997 10:09:15 -0500
Regardless of what your lab may "ask for" in terms of bone marrow
aspirations, as a clinician, I can assure you that you are most likely
not getting it. In a diagnostic workup for leukemia, many mls of
aspirate/blood mixture are often obtained because of the need for many
studies. Typically the first pull will be used for smears, subsequent
pulls for flow, cytogenetic, and potentially molecular studies. Total
volumes can easily exceed 10 - 20 mL. Not a perfect world, but better
for the patient than multiple sticks with an aspirating needle.
Steven Gore
Johns Hopkins Oncology Center