Fun Facts from the Body

Some fun little thing I learned this week in my Pediatric Oncology class. First a little lesson. Did you know that the inside of your bones is where the majority of your blood is made? I remember being amazed when I learned this, and I still wonder how many people actually know that. So...when you get a bone marrow transplant (God forbid you ever need one), the idea is that they wipe out all of your own defective marrow and replace it with this new persons.
2 amazing things I learned this week...
**When they give you the new 'marrow,' they simply give it through an IV straight into your veins...it finds it's way to the center of your bones all by itself....isn't that weird, cool, and amazing all at the same time. The cells 'know' where to go.
**Also, one of the ways they know whether or not the new 'system' is working is that they test the blood. Hopefully your 'new' blood will have the transplantee's DNA. In other words, your body will continue making blood with the other persons DNA. So if you are a female and you recieve your donation from a male, your blood cells will always have a Y chromosome in them....how interesting huh?
Fun Facts from the Body....any questions? I would love to try and answer some...leave me a comment.