Definition

Noun: * The destruction of red blood cells, resulting in the release of hemoglobin into the surrounding fluid. This is a biological process where the membrane of an erythrocyte (red blood cell) ruptures or disintegrates.

Usage

• Hemolysis is a medical and scientific term used to describe a specific cellular event. It can occur inside the body () due to various conditions or outside the body () due to improper blood sample handling.
• It is typically used as an uncountable noun to describe the process or state.
  • The patient's anemia was caused by excessive hemolysis.
  • The laboratory noted hemolysis in the blood sample, making some tests unreliable.

Advanced Usage

• Adjective Form: Hemolytic (/ˌhiː.məˈlɪt.ɪk/ or /ˌhɛm.əˈlɪt.ɪk/). This describes something that causes or relates to hemolysis.
  • A hemolytic reaction.
  • The toxin has hemolytic properties.
• Verb Form: Hemolyze (also spelled in British English). This means to undergo or cause hemolysis.
  • Certain chemicals can hemolyze red blood cells.
  • The fragile cells began to hemolyze.

Variants and Related Words

• Haemolysis: The British English spelling of hemolysis.
• Erythrolysis: A more technical synonym, directly meaning "the breaking apart of red cells."
• Lysis: A general term for the disintegration or dissolution of a cell.
• Hemoglobinemia: The presence of free hemoglobin in the blood plasma, which is a direct consequence of hemolysis.

Synonyms

• Erythrolysis (technical)
• Red blood cell lysis (descriptive)

Related Phrases and Contexts

• Intravascular hemolysis: Hemolysis that occurs within the blood vessels.
• Extravascular hemolysis: Hemolysis that occurs primarily in the spleen and liver.
• Hemolytic anemia: A type of anemia caused by the accelerated destruction (hemolysis) of red blood cells.
• Mechanical hemolysis: Physical damage to red blood cells, e.g., from artificial heart valves.

Noun

1. lysis of erythrocytes with the release of hemoglobin