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A bone scan is a nuclear imaging test that helps diagnose and track several types of bone disease. Your doctor may order a bone scan if you have unexplained skeletal pain, bone infection or a bone injury that can’t be seen on a standard X-ray. A bone scan is also an important tool for detecting Read more…

If you are planning to donate blood and bone marrow, you’ve agreed to allow doctors to draw blood stem cells from your blood or bone marrow for transplantation. Blood stem cells are the cells that make all of the body’s blood cells. They form and mature in the bone marrow, and are then released into Read more…

Bone marrow biopsy and bone marrow aspiration are procedures to collect and examine bone marrow — the spongy tissue inside some of your larger bones. Bone marrow biopsy and aspiration can show whether your bone marrow is healthy and making normal amounts of blood cells. Doctors use these procedures to diagnose and monitor blood and Read more…

A bone density test determines if you have osteoporosis — a disease that causes bones to become more fragile and more likely to break. In the past, osteoporosis could be detected only after you broke a bone. By that time, however, your bones could be quite weak. A bone density test enhances the accuracy of Read more…

A common blood test, the blood urea nitrogen (BUN) test reveals important information about how well your kidneys and liver are working. A BUN test measures the amount of urea nitrogen that’s in your blood. Here’s how your body typically forms and gets rid of urea nitrogen: Your liver produces ammonia — which contains nitrogen Read more…

A blood transfusion is a routine medical procedure that can be lifesaving. During a blood transfusion, donated blood is added to your own blood. A blood transfusion may also be done to supplement various components of your blood with donated blood products. In some cases, a blood transfusion is done with blood that you’ve donated Read more…

A blood pressure test measures the pressure in your arteries as your heart pumps. You might have a blood pressure test as a part of a routine doctor’s appointment or as a screening for high blood pressure (hypertension). Many people, such as those with high blood pressure, do their own blood pressure tests at home Read more…

Blood donation is a voluntary procedure. You agree to have blood drawn so that it can be given to someone who needs a blood transfusion. Millions of people need blood transfusions each year. Some may need blood during surgery. Others depend on it after an accident or because they have a disease that requires blood Read more…