Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Bone marrow

Bone marrow is the soft, spongy tissue in the middle of long bones, such as the bones in your legs.

Source:
Martini FH.
The lymphatic system and immunity.
In: Ober WC, Garrison CW, Welch K, et al. Fundamentals of anatomy and physiology 5th edition. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, U.S.A.; 2001.

¹ Your bone marrow makes:

Red blood cells. These cells carry oxygen around your body
White blood cells, including lymphocytes. These cells help to fight infection
Platelets. These are small pieces of cells that clump together to stop bleeding.

If your bone marrow is damaged you can get:

anemia
Anemia is when you have too few red blood cells. Anemia can make you get tired and breathless easily. It can also make you look pale. Anemia can be caused by a number of different things, including problems with your diet, blood loss and some diseases.

Anemia. This is when you don't have enough hemoglobin, the part of red blood cells that carries oxygen around your body
Severe infections that affect your whole body, such as

blood poisoning
A severe infection in your blood is called blood poisoning or septicemia. Bacteria get into your blood and multiply quickly. Blood poisoning requires emergency treatment with antibiotics. The symptoms are fever, chills, low blood pressure, confusion and a rash. If it isn't treated quickly, it can cause serious damage to important parts of your body. And it may cause death.

blood poisoning
Bruising or bleeding on the inside or outside of your body (because you don't have enough platelets).

Sources for the information on this page:

Martini FH.The lymphatic system and immunity.In: Ober WC, Garrison CW, Welch K, et al. Fundamentals of anatomy and physiology 5th edition. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, U.S.A.; 2001.

This information was last updated on Jan 08, 2009

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