The Immunophenotypic Profile of Healthy Human Bone Marrow

Flow cytometry enables multiparametric characterization of hematopoietic cell immunophenotype. Deviations from normal immunophenotypic patterns comprise a cardinal feature of many hematopoietic neoplasms, underscoring the ongoing essentiality of flow cytometry as a diagnostic tool. However, understanding of aberrant hematopoiesis requires an equal understanding of normal hematopoiesis as a comparator. In this review, we outline key features of healthy adult hematopoiesis and lineage specification as illuminated by flow cytometry and provide diagrams illustrating what a diagnostician may observe in flow cytometric plots. These features provide a profile of baseline hematopoiesis, to which clinical samples with suspected neoplasia may be compared.