= Hemolysis
<Hemolysis> is the breakdown of <red blood cells>. In a membrane-rupture experiment, release of <hemoglobin> into the surrounding liquid can supply a measurable readout. The process and the signal used to detect it are different things: interpreting the measurement requires a stated reference and background.<Hemolysis in the NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms>[Definition: breakdown of red blood cells]{ref}
For an original calibrated-release model, assume <absorbance> is proportional to released <hemoglobin> and compare equally loaded samples at the same final volume. Let $A_{mathrm s}$ denote sample absorbance, $A_{mathrm b}$ the blank and $A_{mathrm f}$ an otherwise matched complete-release reference. Define
$$
H=\frac{A_{mathrm s}-A_{mathrm b}}{A_{mathrm f}-A_{mathrm b}}.
$$
With invented readings $A_{mathrm s}=0.35$, $A_{mathrm b}=0.05$ and $A_{mathrm f}=1.05$, this gives $H=0.30$. It measures 30 percent of the corrected reference signal under the stated assumptions. It does not automatically count individual lysed <cells> if their hemoglobin contents or release behaviors differ.
The <complement system> can be studied through a hemolytic response. A 1965 component-isolation study assigned a serum protein to <complement C5> and reported that its lytic function depended on <complement C6>. Such a functional assay tests the joint reaction, while a protein-abundance measurement asks how much of a component is present.<Isolation of beta 1F-globulin from human serum and its characterization as the fifth component of complement by U. R. Nilsson and others>[Abstract: component assignment and C6-dependent hemolytic function]{ref}
A <hemolysis> result therefore needs its experimental context. A released-hemoglobin signal alone does not identify which membrane-damaging mechanism produced it.
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