Bone and bone marrow: the same organ

Abstract

Interplays between bone and bone marrow are not limited to merely anatomic and histological connections, but include a tight functional correlation. Bone marrow resides within the medullary cavity of the bones and the process of hematopoiesis is regulated, at least in part, by bone cells. Moreover, osteoclasts and osteoblasts derive from precursors of hematopoietic and mesenchymal origin, respectively, both residing within the bone marrow. Alterations in one of these components typically cause impairment in the other, so diseases of the bone marrow compartment often affect the bone and vice versa. All these findings could make us to speculate that bone and bone marrow are not two separate districts, but can be considered as the two elements of the same unique functional unit, the bone-bone marrow organ. Here we will describe histological and functional interplays between bone and bone marrow, and will illustrate some diseases in which this tight correlation is evident.