Fine needle aspiration of thoracic extramedullary hematopoiesis.
Thoracic manifestations of extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH) are well known clinically, radiologically and pathologically; it is generally confirmed histologically by open biopsy or postmortem examination. We report a case of EMH diagnosed by percutaneous fine needle aspiration (FNA) in a patient with long-standing, acquired, sideroblastic anemia. The aspirate was very cellular and composed of normal bone marrow elements with an erythroid to myeloid cell ratio of 3 to 1. Megakaryocytes were abundant but constituted less than 1% of the total cell population. This case illustrates that the diagnosis of EMH is possible by FNA and that thoracotomy for diagnostic purposes can be circumvented.
D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology*; D006410:Hematopoiesis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008477:Mediastinal Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000473:pathology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed