Bone Marrow Biopsy in Spanish

What it means

A bone marrow biopsy is the removal of marrow from inside a bone. Bone marrow is the soft tissue inside bones that helps form blood cells. The National Cancer Institute dictionary describes the procedure: a small sample of bone with bone marrow inside it is removed, usually from the hip bone, after a small area of skin and the surface of the bone underneath are numbed with an anesthetic, and the sample is sent to a laboratory to be looked at under a microscope. MedlinePlus says the test is used to diagnose some types of anemia, certain infections, leukemia, and other blood cancers and disorders. A bone marrow biopsy is not the same as a bone marrow aspiration, which removes a small amount of marrow in liquid form.

Spanish term: Biopsia de médula ósea
Gender and article: feminine: la biopsia de médula ósea
Pronunciation: bee-OHP-syah deh MEH-doo-lah OH-seh-ah

Biopsia de médula ósea is the title and the wording of the MedlinePlus en español encyclopedia article, and the noun is feminine: una biopsia de médula ósea. The National Cancer Institute's Spanish dictionary enters the same procedure with the article: biopsia de la médula ósea. The related procedure is aspiración de médula ósea on MedlinePlus en español and aspiración de la médula ósea in the NCI dictionary.

Where the English page says the sample is usually taken from the pelvic bone, MedlinePlus en español writes el hueso de la pelvis; the NCI dictionary says el hueso de la cadera (hip bone). Words for the procedure are aguja (needle), jeringa (syringe), anestésico (numbing medicine), muestra (sample) and vendaje (bandage). The blood count that may lead to the test is conteo sanguíneo completo (CSC), and the cells it counts are glóbulos rojos, glóbulos blancos and plaquetas. MedlinePlus en español describes the feeling of the injection as una punzada aguda, where the English page says a sharp sting.

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Clinician	Your blood count shows abnormal numbers of white blood cells, so I am going to order a bone marrow biopsy.	Su conteo sanguíneo muestra cantidades anormales de glóbulos blancos, así que voy a pedirle una biopsia de médula ósea.
Patient	Where do you take the sample from?	¿De dónde toman la muestra?
Clinician	The sample is usually taken from the pelvic bone.	La muestra normalmente se toma del hueso de la pelvis.
Patient	Will it hurt?	¿Me va a doler?
Clinician	You will feel a sharp sting when the numbing medicine is injected.	Sentirá una punzada aguda cuando le inyecten la anestesia.
Clinician	Are you allergic to any medicines, or do you have bleeding problems?	¿Tiene alergia a algún medicamento, o tiene problemas de sangrado?
Patient	I take several medicines. I brought the list.	Tomo varios medicamentos. Traje la lista.
Patient	Will you also do a bone marrow aspiration?	¿También van a hacer una aspiración de médula ósea?

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Bone Marrow Biopsy
Spanish (Español)	Biopsia de médula ósea
Chinese (中文)	骨髓活組織切片
Korean (한국어)	골수 생검
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Sinh thiết tủy xương
Filipino (Tagalog)	Bone Marrow Biopsy
Portuguese (Português)	Biópsia de medula óssea
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	การตัดชิ้นเนื้อไขกระดูก
Japanese (日本語)	骨髄生検

Where you'll see it

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Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: Blood and immune system

All terms in this area: Blood and immune system — Sangre y sistema inmunitario

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.