| fragility | Brittleness; liability to break, burst, or disintegrate. Synonym: fragilitas. Origin: L. Fragilitas (05 Mar 2000) |
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| fragility of the blood | The susceptibility, or lack of resistance, of erythrocytes to haemolysis when exposed to increasingly hypotonic saline solutions. (12 Dec 1998) |
| fragility test | A test that measures the resistance of erythrocytes to haemolysis in hypotonic saline solutions; erythrocytes to be tested are added to varying concentrations of saline (usually ranging from 0.85 to 0.10% sodium chloride with 0.05% increments), and beginning and complete haemolysis are measured; normal erythrocytes show initial haemolysis at concentrations of 0.45 to 0.39% and complete haemolysis at 0.33 to 0.30%; in hereditary spherocytosis the fragility of the erythrocytes is markedly increased, whereas in thalassaemia, sickle cell anaemia, and obstructive jaundice the fragility of the erythrocytes is usually reduced. Synonym: erythrocyte fragility test. (05 Mar 2000) |
| capillary fragility | The lack of resistance, or susceptibility, of capillaries to damage or disruption under conditions of increased stress. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| capillary fragility test | A tourniquet test used to determine presence of vitamin C deficiency or thrombocytopenia; a circle 2.5 cm in diameter, the upper edge of which is 4 cm below the crease of the elbow, is drawn on the inner aspect of the forearm, pressure midway between the systolic and diastolic blood pressure is applied above the elbow for 15 minutes, and a count of petechiae within the circle is made: 10, normal; 10 to 20, marginal zone; over 20, abnormal. See: Rumpel-Leede test. Synonym: capillary resistance test, vitamin C test. (05 Mar 2000) |
| osmotic fragility | The susceptibility, or lack of resistance, of erythrocytes to haemolysis when exposed to increasingly hypotonic saline solutions. (12 Dec 1998) |