Describing something that causes the breaking down and destruction of red blood cells.
From Greek 'haima' (blood) + 'lytic' (relating to lysis or breaking down). The adjective form developed as medical science needed to describe diseases and conditions characterized by this process.
Haemolytic disease is particularly important in newborns—when a mother's immune system attacks her baby's red blood cells (due to Rh incompatibility), it causes haemolytic disease, which is why hospitals now do blood type matching for pregnant women.
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