Bone marrow evaluation: the relative merits of particle sections and smear preparations

Bone marrow aspirates (311) from patients with various haematologic disorders were examined with both smear preparations and histologic sections. Adequate specimens for comparison were obtained in 77.4%. A wide discrepancy concerning the cellularity was noted between the two methods. The results confirm previous studies and indicate that histologic examination of bone marrow aspirates is particularly helpful in lymphoproliferative disorders. It is concluded that sectioning of aspirated marrow is an important procedure and should be included in the routine examination of bone marrow.