Which term describes toxins that suppress bone marrow?

• A. Leukopoiesis
• B. Microcytic
• C. Neutropenia
• D. Myelotoxins

Answer: (D)

Toxins that suppress bone marrow disrupt the marrow’s ability to produce blood cells, leading to widespread decreases in red cells, white cells, and platelets. The term that names these toxins is myelotoxins—the “myelo-” root refers to bone marrow, and “-toxins” denotes poisonous agents. Because myelotoxins undermine marrow function, they can cause anemia, increased infection risk from reduced white cells, and bleeding tendencies from low platelets.

By contrast, leukopoiesis is simply the production of white blood cells, microcytic describes red blood cells that are abnormally small (a cell morphology finding, not a toxin), and neutropenia is a condition of low neutrophil count resulting from various causes (including marrow suppression) but not the name of a toxin. So the term that best fits toxins that suppress bone marrow is myelotoxins.