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what is bone marrow?

Bone marrow is the tissue comprising the center of large bones. It is the place where new blood cells are produced.

  • Bone marrow contains two types of stem cells: hemopoietic (which can produce blood cells) and stromal (which can produce fat, cartilage and bone).

There are two types of bone marrow:
  1. Red marrow (also known as myeloid tissue) : Red blood cells, platelets and most white blood cells arise in red marrow. Red marrow is found mainly in the flat bones such as hip bone, breast bone, skull, ribs, vertebrae and shoulder blades, and in the cancellous ("spongy") material at the proximal ends of the long bones femur and humerus.

  2. Yellow marrow : some white blood cells develop in yellow marrow.
  • The color of yellow marrow is due to the much higher number of fat cells.

  • Both types of bone marrow contain numerous blood vessels and capillaries. At birth, all bone marrow is red.
  • With age, more and more of it is converted to the yellow type.
  • Adults have on average about 2.6kg (5.7lbs) of bone marrow, with about half of it being red.
  • Pink Marrow is found in the hollow interior of the middle portion of long bones. There are several serious diseases involving bone marrow.


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