Alcoholic Dyshaematopoiesis: Morphological Features of Alcohol-Induced Bone Marrow Damage in Biopsy Sections Compared with Aspiration Smears

Abstract

We investigated trephine biopsies from 118 alcoholic patients in order to establish whether or not the known alcohol-induced alterations seen in smears are seen in bone marrow tissue sections, and whether new features might emerge, which could be suitable for defining the histological picture of a condition to be known as 'alcoholic dyshaematopoiesis'. The main changes involve erythropoiesis and iron metabolism. They can be attributed in part to destabilization of the red cell membrane. While these alterations are clearly visible in tissue sections, aspiration smears are needed to detect other features, especially ring sideroblasts.