Adjacent Words

bone marrow definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the fatty network of connective tissue that fills the cavities of bones [syn: marrow, bone marrow]
2: very tender and very nutritious tissue from marrowbones [syn: marrow, bone marrow]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1893 a soft highly vascular modified connective tissue that occupies the cavities of most bones and occurs in two forms: a. one that is yellowish, consists chiefly of fat cells, and is found especially in the cavities of long bones b. one that is reddish, is the chief site of blood cell formation, and occurs in the normal adult in cancellous tissue especially of certain flat bones — called also red marrow

Britannica Concise

Soft, gelatinous tissue that fills bone cavities. Red bone marrow contains stem cells, progenitor cells, percursor cells, and functional blood cells (see reticuloendothelial system). Lymphocytes mature in the lymphoid organs (see lymphoid tissue). All other blood-cell formation occurs in red marrow, which also takes part in destruction of old erythrocytes (red blood cells). Yellow bone marrow mainly stores fats. Because the leukocytes (white blood cells) produced in bone marrow are involved in immune defenses, marrow transplants can treat some types of immunodeficiency. Radiation and some anticancer drugs can damage marrow and impair immunity. Bone-marrow examination helps diagnose diseases related to blood and blood-forming organs.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Bone marrow is the soft fatty substance inside human or animal bones. There are 2,000 children worldwide who need a bone marrow transplant. = marrow