[Histomorphometric analysis of bone-marrow adipose density and heterogeneity in myeloid aplasia and dysplasia (author's transl)].

A method for histomorphometric analysis of sternal, or iliac, bone-marrow biopsies is reported. Undecalcified, or decalcified, bone marrow-samples from 169 patients with aplastic or dyserythropoietic anaemia were studied utilizing stereological methods: point counting analysis on serial sections. The most informative structure parameters in each of the marrow were the volume density of adipose cells (after correction for the variation with age) inversely related to marrow cellularity, and the standard-deviation (after angular transformation arc sin square root p) correlated with marrow heterogeneity. Hypercellularity, or heterogeneity, appeared to be related to histo-cytological features of dyserythropoiesis and they were associated with a better prognosis comparatively with hypocellular homogeneous marrows.