hemolyze

Hemolyze means to undergo hemolysis or to force red blood cells to undergo hemolysis.

Red blood cells transport oxygen throughout the body. Hemolysis is the destruction of red blood cells and the release of hemoglobin, the pigment that carries oxygen.

Normally, red blood cells have a lifespan of up to 120 days. Around this time, they will naturally start to break down and hemolyze on their own. Destroyed red blood cells are then removed from the bloodstream by the spleen.

However, something else may hemolyze red blood cells, such as animal venom, toxic microorganisms, or abnormal conditions, like sickle cell anemia or hypersplenism. Because the cells are being destroyed sooner than they should be, the body can’t create new cells fast enough to maintain a healthy level of cells. This condition is known as anemia, a disorder where there is a shortage of oxygen in the blood due to insufficient red blood cells.

The first records of hemolyze come from around 1900. It combines hemo–, meaning “blood,” and –lyze, a combining form that makes verbs from nouns that end in –lysis (such as hemolysis).

As you might expect, red blood cells being prematurely hemolyzed is dangerous. Anemia is a serious condition that can lead to death if the oxygen shortage gets especially severe.

Besides this, abnormally frequent red blood cell hemolyzing can lead to a variety of health problems, such as fatigue, skin paleness, jaundice, dizziness, heart murmur, and enlargement of the spleen or liver.

Hospitals and research laboratories must take care that their blood samples or blood supplies aren’t hemolyzed, because hemolyzed blood samples are worthless for research and testing and hemolyzed blood can’t be used in blood transfusions. Major health organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have conducted research on the best methods to prevent blood from being hemolyzed.

The word hemolyze is most likely to be used by doctors, nurses, scientists, or another medical professional that handles blood.

When the sample is hemolyzed, why does the lab report the potassium level? They should just report "hemolyzed" and not knowingly give a spurious result.

— Joel M. Topf, MD FACP (@kidney_boy) January 18, 2018

A nurse accused me of purposely letting a specimen hemolyze and not analyzing it right away. I'm a real med tech now!

— Kunal Patel (@KunaletaP29) March 14, 2017

• hemolysis
• blood
• red blood cell
• hemoglobin
• oxygen
• spleen
• anemia

True or False?

Red blood cells will only hemolyze when affected by disease.