Question

Bone marrow is the soft organic material that fills the central cavity of a bone. The combining form for bone marrow is myel/o, which also refers to the spinal cord. It is sometimes difficult to know which meaning is intended. When you see myel/o, you will need to decide if it means spinal cord or bone _____.

Answer 1

Myel/o refers to bone marrow within bones, which comes in two types: red marrow for hematopoiesis (blood cell production) and yellow marrow for fat storage.

Step-by-step explanation:

When you come across the combining form myel/o, it could refer to either the spinal cord or bone marrow. In the context of bones, it typically indicates bone marrow, which is the soft organic material filling the inner cavity of bones. There are two types of bone marrow, namely red marrow and yellow marrow.

Red marrow is involved in hematopoiesis, the process of blood cell production, including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. On the other hand, yellow marrow mainly stores fats in the form of adipose tissue. Hematopoiesis and energy storage are two crucial functions facilitated by bone marrow.