CULTURE OF HUMAN MARROW

Abstract

In previous articles, two methods¹for the culture of human marrow in bulk were described in a preliminary way and some of the problems that offered promise of solution by marrow culture were outlined. Details of the procedure and of the composition of the mediums were not given because little was then known about them. It is our purpose in this article to describe a technic of marrow culture, which has proved simple and entirely satisfactory for many types of investigation, in sufficient detail so that any one trained in bacteriologic, chemical and hematologic technic can use the method. It early became evident that there was no such thing as one set of ideal conditions for marrow culture, because growth consists of three distinct phases. These phases are multiplication either by mitotic or by amitotic division, which corresponds to hyperplasia; increase in cell size, which corresponds to hypertrophy in