The bone marrow trephine biopsy: a review of normal histology

Bone marrow trephine biopsies are becoming increasingly common in routine surgical pathology. Familiarity with normal marrow histology plays an important part in understanding and interpreting marrow pathology. The aim of this article is to describe the histological features of normal human bone marrow, in particular those features which are relevant to the diagnostic pathologist. The advantages and disadvantages of different technical aspects, such as choice of embedding material and type of stain, are discussed. The use of immunochemistry in identifying different cell types within the marrow is illustrated.