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Updated: Mar 14, 2026
Femoral Bone Marrow Aspiration in Live Mice
Published on: July 5, 2014
Serous degeneration of bone marrow mimics spinal tumor
Chih-Wei Sung1, Kevin Li-Chun Hsieh2,3, Yun-Ho Lin4,5
1School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Objective:
To present a rare case of serous degeneration of bone marrow which resembles primary spinal tumor or bony metastasis to spine. Serous degeneration of bone marrow or gelatinous marrow transformation is a rare disease characterized by focal marrow hypoplasia, fat atrophy, and accumulation of extracellular mucopolysaccharides abundant in hyaluronic acid. Few literature was reviewed and few clinical case was presented.
Methods:
Two cases of serous marrow transformation were reported.
Results:
In the first case, a 29-year-old man suffered from severe left buttock pain. Bone metastasis was impressed in radiology examinations. Percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy was performed along with bone biopsy. In the second case, a 49-year-old man presented lower back pain with radiation to bilateral lower legs. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a water-like signal lesion in sacrum. Serous marrow transformation was confirmed pathologically in both cases.
Conclusion:
To the best of our knowledge, a case of serous degeneration of bone marrow resembling malignancy has not been reported in the literature. In this report, two cases demonstrate serous transformation of bone marrow mimics spinal tumor.
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