aspiration vs biopsy

[Arctic Char]

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whats the difference between a bone marrow biopsy and an aspirate? i mentioned to someone i had been looking at slides of bone marrow from FNA and he got all up on me about it . . . if the sample on the slide was the shape of a needle lumen, i figured it was from a needle . . . thus was an FNA of bone marrow . . . how is that not a biopsy?

can someone help me out on the lingo and specifics?

thanks!

 

[Gut Shot]

There is a nice description (with photos!) on emedicine.

To make a short story even shorter, after jamming one of these babies into the marrow cavity:

...you first attach a syringe and suck out the aspirate. It's usually just blood with tiny hunks of detached marrow. Then you dig in a little deeper and extract a core of trabecular bone that contains more marrow. This is the biopsy.

The best thing to do is watch one, and it will make complete sense.

 

[Arctic Char]

i think i got it. seeing that picture up close makes the article easier to follow.

thanks!