Further advances in the understanding of acute myeloid leukemia occurred rapidly with the development of new technology . In 1877 , Paul Ehrlich developed a technique of staining blood films which allowed him to describe in detail normal and abnormal white blood cells . Wilhelm Ebstein introduced the term " acute leukemia " in 1889 to differentiate rapidly progressive and fatal leukemias from the more indolent chronic leukemias . The term " myeloid " was coined by Franz Ernst Christian Neumann in 1869 , as he was the first to recognize white blood cells was made in the bone marrow ( Greek : µυєλός , myelos = ( bone ) marrow ) as opposed to the spleen . The technique of bone marrow examination to diagnose leukemia was first described in 1879 by Mosler . Finally , in 1900 , the myeloblast , which is the malignant cell in AML , was characterized by Otto Naegeli , who divided the leukemias into myeloid and lymphocytic .