Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory Office of Science NEWTON's Homepage NEWTON's Homepage
NEWTON, Ask A Scientist!
NEWTON Home Page NEWTON Teachers Visit Our Archives Ask A Question How To Ask A Question Question of the Week Our Expert Scientists Volunteer at NEWTON! Frequently Asked Questions Referencing NEWTON About NEWTON About Ask A Scientist Education At Argonne Bone Marrow 
Name: Amy J.
Status: student
Age: 14
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: 2/23/2003
Question:
Do all bones have real bone marrow?

Replies:
When you say "real" bone marrow what do you mean? There are 2 types of bone marrow: red and yellow. Red marrow is where blood cells are made. There are 2 types of bones as well: those that have spongy bone tissue and those that have compact tissue. The oddly shaped bones and the ends of long bones usually are mostly spongy bone with a layer of compact bone around them. So bones like the breastbone (sternum), and the ends of your leg and arm bones have red marrow in them. The shafts of the long bones are hollow and are filled with yellow marrow, which does not make blood cells. If you look at a round steak or certain beef roasts that contain bones, sometimes there are long bones that have been cut crosswise and you can see the yellow marrow that fills their center.

vanhoeck

Click here to return to the Zoology Archives

NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.

For assistance with NEWTON contact a System Operator (help@newton.dep.anl.gov), or at Argonne's Educational Programs

NEWTON AND ASK A SCIENTIST
Educational Programs
Building 360
9700 S. Cass Ave.
Argonne, Illinois
60439-4845, USA
Update: June 2012
Weclome To Newton

Argonne National Laboratory