Hemolysis

This is the destruction of erythrocytes and the release of hemoglobin from them into the surrounding tissues. Causes: hemolytic anemia, poisoning with hemolytics.

Intracellular hemolysis – erythrocytes disintegrate inside blood vessels, during extracellular hemolysis – outside the blood vessels. The lifespan of erythrocytes is about 125 days. During hemolysis, the level of the hemoglobin metabolite bilirubin in the body increases. If hemolysis persists, it becomes chronic, characterized by slowly progressing anemia, tissue hypoxia. Hemolytics are substances that lyse erythrocytes.

Source | Glossary of Most Commonly Used Biomedical Terms and Concepts | Lithuanian University of Health Sciences | Academician Professor Antanas Praškevičius, Professor Laima Ivanovienė