Bone Marrow Cytology

Species:

All species

Specimen:

Bone marrow and peripheral blood

Container:

EDTA bone marrow, direct smears of bone marrow, EDTA blood (minimum 2 ml)

Collection protocol:

  • Collect using standard techniques with appropriate sedation/anaesthesia/analgesia.
  • Preferred sampling sites:
    • Dogs - The iliac crest and humeral head are preferred sites for dogs
    • Larger cats - The iliac crest and proximal femur for large cats
    • Smaller cats or neonates - proximal femur
    • Horses and ruminants - sternal vertebra
  • It is always recommended to obtain both a needle aspirate for cytology and core biopsy for histopathology.
  • Make several direct smears of the aspirated material and place the remainder in an EDTA tube.
  • Bone marrow aspirates/biopsies must be interpreted along with a concurrent CBC - please submit EDTA blood as well. The CBC is included in the bone marrow cytology fee.
  • Provide a thorough clinical history and reference to any previous bloodwork that has been submitted.

Special handling/shipping requirements:

Do not ship cytology specimens with formalin samples. Wrap and bag separately. The formalin fumes prevent cellular uptake of differential stains rendering the slides non-diagnostic.