Biopsy of Bone Marrow With the Vim-Silverman Needle

An adequate appraisal of the bone marrow has become prerequisite in any hematological diagnosis. In most cases, simple aspiration technique provides sufficient marrow particles for a study of relative morphology and maturation. However, even in skilled hands the aspiration technique fails to yield adequate marrow particles in a small percentage of cases. Our experience in this respect is similar to that of Young and Osgood 1 in that we encounter dry taps or insufficient marrow particles by aspiration in approximately 6% of our cases. This figure remains in spite of the fact that we routinely use the selective particle technique which permits recovery of even single aspirated particles. 2 Recently, we have been using the Vim-Silverman biopsy needle 3 to obtain bone marrow in instances of dry taps, and it is the purpose of this paper to describe the technique. Method The patient is placed in the lateral recumbent position