Hemolysis is a blood disease, during the development of which the destruction of the membranes of erythrocytes, or as they are also called " The name is derived from the Latin word haemolysis, which literally means the disintegration of blood.

The main reason for the destruction of red blood cells is the action of hemolysins - special substances, in the role of which the metabolic products of bacteria or antibodies can act. The result is a clear, reddish liquid called lacquer blood..

Depending on the causes that gave rise to it, the following types of hemolysis are distinguished:.

Natural (or physiological) - is the natural process of death of cells that have completed their life cycle, which usually lasts from 120 to 130 days.

Osmotic - develops in a hypotonic environment under the influence of substances that violate the integrity of the erythrocyte membrane.

Temperature - caused by sudden changes in temperature (freezing and subsequent defrosting). In this case, the destruction of erythrocytes occurs under the action of the formed ice microcrystals.

Biological - usually triggered by bacteria, insects, or as a side effect of an incompatible blood transfusion procedure.

Mechanical - most often observed with intense exposure to the blood by a mechanical method, as a result of which rupture of the membranes of erythrocytes occurs.

Depending on where exactly the process of cell destruction took place, extra- and intravascular types of hemolysis are also distinguished..

In the first case, the process takes place inside the so-called macrophages - cells located in the liver, spleen or bone marrow.

The most common cause is heredity, autoimmune anemia, or microherocytosis. Usually accompanied by an enlarged liver or spleen.

The intravascular form is accompanied by the death of red blood cells during blood circulation directly inside the blood vessels. Often it is a consequence of hemolytic anemia, penetration of hemolytic toxins into the body.

In some cases, the disease can be caused by the body's response to certain types of therapy and drugs..

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