So, What Is Acute Myeloid Leukemia?

 "Acute" means that the leukemia can progress quickly and if not treated would probably be fatal in a few months.  AML starts in the bone marrow but in most cases moves quickly into the blood.  It can sometimes spread to other parts of the body including the lymph nodes, liver, spleen, central nervous system. 

The bone marrow is made up of a small number of blood stem cells, more mature blood-forming cells, fact cells, and supporting tissues that help cells grow.  Blood stem cells go through a series of changes to make new blood cells. During this process, the cells develop into either lymphocytes (a kind of white blood cell) or other blood-forming cells.  The other blood-forming cells can develop into red blood cells, white blood cels (other than lymphocytes), and platelets.

Red Blood Cells
These carry oxygen from the lungs to all other tissues in the body, and take carbon dioxide back to the lungs to be removed.  Anemia - having too few red blood cells in the body - typically causes a person to feel tired, weak, and short of breath because the body tissues are not getting enough oxygen.

Platelets
These are actually cell fragments made by a type of bone marrow cell called the megakaryocyte.   Platelets are important in plugging up holes in blood vessels caused by cuts or bruises.  A shortage of platelets is called thrombocytopenia. A person with thrombocytopenia may bleed and bruise easily.

White Blood Cells
These help the body fight infection.  Lymphocytes are one type of white blood cell.  Other types are granulocytes and monocytes.  Lymphocytes are the main cells that make up lymphoid tissue, a major part of the immune system.  Lyphoid tissue is found in lymph nodes, the thymus glad, the spleen, the tonsils and adenoids, and is scattered throughout the digestive and respiratory systems and bone marrow.

Most signs and symptoms of AML result from a shortage of normal blood cells, which happens when the leukemia cells crowd out the normal blood-making cells in the bone marrow. As a result, people do not have enough normal red blood cells, white blood cells and blood platelets.  These shortages show up on blood tests but can also cause symptoms such as Anemia, Leukopenia, and Thrombocytopenia.