Final answer:
Complete hemolysis, causing the release of hemoglobin, is known as β-hemolysis or beta-hemolysis. This can have significant clinical implications, such as in identifying pathogenic organisms with a complement fixation test or in conditions like HDN due to Rh incompatibility.
Step-by-step explanation:
The complete breakdown of red blood cells in a media, resulting in the total lysis and the release of hemoglobin, is called β-hemolysis or beta-hemolysis. This is distinguished from γ-hemolysis (gamma hemolysis), which is non-hemolytic, and α-hemolysis (alpha hemolysis), which does not actually rupture the red blood cell membrane but instead converts hemoglobin to methemoglobin, giving a greenish hue around colonies on a Blood Agar Plate (BAP). Beta-hemolysis is significant clinically as it is often associated with more pathogenic bacteria that produce hemolysins capable of completely lysing erythrocytes.
When evaluating complement-mediated cytolysis, red blood cells are often used since the presence of released hemoglobin can be visually detected when a solution turns pink. This property is utilized in the complement fixation test, which is applied in identifying antibodies against hard-to-culture pathogens such as some fungi, viruses, or bacteria like Chlamydia. Hemolysis plays an important role in various disorders, such as hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) where it can cause agglutination and lysis in the fetus or newborn of an Rh-negative mother if the child is Rh-positive. It can also occur due to mismatched blood transfusion where red blood cells are destroyed by complement and antibody.