Bone marrow failure

Abstract

The term ‘bone marrow failure’ encompasses conditions in which there is a primary failure, at the haemopoietic precursor level, to produce one or more of the circulating blood cell lineages. The term usually excludes pancytopenia associated with marrow infiltration (as in acute leukaemia and cytopenias), and those that arise from predominantly peripheral destruction. Bone marrow failure may be acquired or congenital; the main types are listed in Figure 1. Congenital disorders are discussed in MEDICINE 32:5, 20.