anhemolytic
|an-he-mo-lyt-ic|
/ˌænˌhiːməˈlɪtɪk/
not causing red-blood-cell lysis
Etymology
'anhemolytic' originates from Greek, specifically the prefix 'an-' meaning 'not, without' and the scientific combining form 'hemo-' from Greek 'haima' meaning 'blood,' plus 'lytic' from Greek 'lytikos' meaning 'able to loosen or dissolve.'
'anhemolytic' formed in modern scientific English by combining the privative prefix with 'hemolytic/haemolytic'; the latter derives from New Latin 'haemolysis' (Greek 'haima' + 'lysis') and its adjective 'haemolytic,' yielding the modern English adjective 'anhemolytic.'
Initially, it meant 'not causing the dissolution of red blood cells,' and it retains this technical sense in contemporary biomedical usage.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
not causing hemolysis; lacking the ability to lyse red blood cells (often describing organisms that show no hemolysis on blood agar).
The isolate was anhemolytic on sheep blood agar, with no clearing around the colonies.
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Adjective 2
of a substance or condition: exhibiting no hemolytic activity toward red blood cells at given concentrations or under specified conditions.
At clinical concentrations the agent is anhemolytic, sparing erythrocytes from damage.
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Last updated: 2025/08/10 16:52