Increased bone marrow blood flow in polycythemia vera.

Bone marrow blood flow was measured in polycythemia vera, in compensatory and in relative polycythemia with a 133Xe washout method. In the treated polycythemia vera bone marrow blood flow was significantly increased compared with the age-matched controls. The fraction of blood flow entering the bone and flowing through the hematopoietic marrow was markedly increased in both the untreated and the treated polycythemia vera. Although the number of observations in compensatory and relative polycythemia was small, the results suggest that bone marrow blood flow is not markedly increased in these diseases. The results also suggest that in older patients the simple 133Xe method may support the diagnosis of polycythemia vera.