Diagnostic cytology of bone marrow in dogs and cats: 1. Indication and procedure of sample collection

Non-regenerative anaemia, neutropenia and thrombocytopenia of longer duration, suspected leukaemia, myeloma or an infiltration with lymphoma cells and cells of a non-haematopoietic tumour are some of the manifold indications for a diagnostic bone marrow cytology. Furthermore, diagnostic bone marrow cytology should be used for the detection of parasites (e.g. leishmania organisms) and for special staining techniques. Bone marrow is usually collected from the iliac crest in the non-sedated animal. Spinal needles are particularly useful in addition to various cannulas especially manufactured for this purpose. The correct examination and interpretation requires a smear containing marrow fragments. This can be obtained by separating the fragments from the marrow blood in bone marrow mixed with EDTA. The air-dried smears are stained with panoptic (e.g., according to Pappenheim) or special staining procedures. For dispatch to specialized laboratories the bone marrow smears should be unstained.