Osmotic fragility
Encyclopedia
In hematology
Hematology
Hematology, also spelled haematology , is the branch of biology physiology, internal medicine, pathology, clinical laboratory work, and pediatrics that is concerned with the study of blood, the blood-forming organs, and blood diseases...

, osmotic fragility refers to the degree of hemolysis
Hemolysis
Hemolysis —from the Greek meaning "blood" and meaning a "loosing", "setting free" or "releasing"—is the rupturing of erythrocytes and the release of their contents into surrounding fluid...

 when red blood cells are placed in a hypotonic solution. In general, osmotic fragility is inversely proportional to the cell's surface-area-to-volume.
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