Blood and bone marrow analysis was performed using a veterinary ABC analyser using a mouse species analysis card (Horiba, Northampton, UK).
Although a bone marrow analysis was not performed, an overt myeloproliferative disorder was deemed unlikely in the absence of grossly elevated white blood cells and platelet count, no eosinophilia, basophilia, or atypical platelet morphology on the peripheral smear examination.
While neither of these lesions were observed, results of the bone marrow analysis may be helpful as a reference range for this species given the paucity of baseline information on many free ranging pinnipeds.
For bone marrow analysis, cells were isolated from femurs and tibias with RBCs lysis buffer used for all subsequent procedures except analysis of erythropoiesis by Ter119/CD71 flow cytometry.
Interestingly, our patients do not display an erythropoietic phenotype, though it is noted a bone marrow analysis has not been conducted to rule out subtle effects at this level.
The potential for obtaining improved prognostic information on patient outcome, for monitoring tumour cell eradication during adjuvant and palliative systemic therapy, and for specifically targeting tumour biological therapies are intriguing clinical opportunities that may be afforded by bone marrow analysis.
For bone marrow analysis two tibia and two femurs were dissected.
Thus, the clinical applications for bone marrow analysis in patients with solid tumours are still controversially discussed [ 5, 6].
These healthy individuals had undergone bone marrow analysis to investigate cytopenia that had been noted in blood tests, but whose bone marrow examinations revealed no abnormalities.
At necropsy, one femur was taken for bone marrow analysis.
