collecting specimen from organism collecting specimen from organism bone marrow aspiration NCIt:C15644 Aspiration of immature hematopoietic elements and blood from the bone marrow. It is done for the evaluation of hematopoietic disorders and for the evaluation of infectious diseases and cytogenetic studies. The procedure is usually done on the hip bone, breastbone, or thigh bone. A small area of skin and the surface of the bone underneath are numbed with an anesthetic. Then, a special wide needle is pushed into the bone. A sample of liquid bone marrow is removed with a syringe attached to the needle. The bone marrow is sent to a laboratory to be looked at under a microscope. This procedure may be done at the same time as a bone marrow biopsy.