What is a "bone marrow biopsy"?

What is a "bone marrow biopsy"?

Noam Z. Drazin (Hematologist & Oncologist, Cedars-Sinai Medical Group) gives expert video advice on: What are the symptoms of leukemia?; What tests are used to diagnose leukemia? and more...

A bone marrow biopsy is a very useful test that we perform. It can be performed in the hospital, or usually in the office, depending on whether or not the facilities exist. It's a very simple procedure usually done with local anaesthesia, but can be done using a conscious sedation type anaesthesia, for patients with anxiety or who have certain situations in which they have issues with pain. It's not normally a painful procedure, but a very quick procedure that involves the extraction of liquid bone marrow and a tiny piece of bone from the backside of your hip, which are usually analyzed within about 24 to 48 hours, in which time we get our results.