Asymptomatic intrathoracic extramedullary hematopoiesis: a report of three cases.

Extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH) is observed in people suffering from severe anemia of prolonged duration and appears to be a compensatory mechanism for disturbed medullary hematopoiesis. The hemoglobinopathies (such as thalassemia, spherocytosis, and sickle cell disease), neoplastic diseases such as leukemia and lymphoma, and others, including myelofibrosis and osteitis fibrosa cystica, are associated with EMH. These diseases and their resultant anemia have in common the ability to stimulate erythropoietin production, which in turn may stimulate hematopoiesis in organs of mesenchymal origin. The liver and spleen are the most common sites of EMH; however, other sites, including the falx cerebri, thoracic cavity, retroperitoneal area and pelvis have been reported. When present, intrathoracic EMH is most frequently associated with thalassemia. Spinal cord compression and hemothorax have also been reported as complications of intrathoracic EMH.