The myeloproliferative diseases (MPDs) are a group of diseases of the bone marrow in which excess cells are produced. They are related to, and may evolve into, myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia, although the myeloproliferative diseases on the whole have a much better prognosis than these conditions. The concept of myeloproliferative disease was first proposed in 1951 by the eminent hematologist William Dameshek. In the most recent World Health Organization classification of Hematologic malignancies, this group of diseases was renamed from "myeloproliferative diseases" to "myeloproliferative neoplasms"...