AN ANALYSIS OF BONE MARROW ERYTHROPOIESIS IN THE MOUSE

Following the model of the erythropoietic system developed in the rat by Tarbutt and Blackett, the authors have carried out a kinetic analysis of bone marrow erythropoiesis in the mouse. Using 59Fe labelling techniques the size of the recognizable precursor cells and of the functional cell compartments have been estimated, while the flow-rate from the unrecognized precursor cells to the recognizable cells and from the latter compartment to the circulating erythrocytes have been evaluated by 55Fe autoradiography. Differences in the kinetic parameters of the erythropoietic mouse bone marrow compared with the rat bone marrow are reported, whose interpretation has required a more detailed analysis of the original model.