Bone marrow culture

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Bone marrow aspiration

Bone marrow culture is an examination of the soft, fatty tissue found inside certain bones. This tissue, called bone marrow, produces blood cells. The test is done to find out if there is an infection inside the bone marrow.

Culture - bone marrow

The doctor removes a sample of your bone marrow from the back of your pelvic bone or breast bone. This may be done using bone marrow aspiration or a biopsy.

The removed tissue is sent to a lab. It is placed into a special container called a culture dish. Every day, the laboratory specialist will look at the tissue under a microscope to see if any bacteria, fungi, or viruses have grown.

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If any bacteria, fungi, or viruses are found, other tests may be done to learn which drugs will kill the organisms. Treatment can then be started based on these results.

You may feel pressure and pain as the marrow is being removed. (You may be given some numbing medicine, called anesthesia, before the procedure.)

Soreness at the site usually lasts from a few hours to 1-2 days.

You may have this test if you have an unexplained fever or if your health care provider thinks you have an infection of the bone marrow.

Review Date: 03/02/2009
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Yi-Bin Chen, MD, Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).