-lysis suffix. [lɪsɪs] Pl. -lyses [lɪsi:z].
[formed as LYSIS.]
Forming nouns (esp. in Biology, Medicine, & Chemistry) with the sense 'decomposition, disintegration, dissolution', the first elem. indicating the agent (electrolysis, hydrolysis), the substance or object affected (glycolysis, haemolysis, frontolysis), or some other characteristic of the process (autolysis, heterolysis).

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲

lysis noun. ['lʌɪsɪs] Pl. lyses ['lʌɪsi:z]. M16.
[Latin from Greek lusis loosening. In sense 2 prob. from ending of HAEMOLYSIS etc.: cf. -LYSIS.]
1. Medicine. A gradual resolution of a disease without apparent phenomena (opp. crisis). Now rare or obsolete. M16.

2. Biology. The disintegration or dissolution of cells or cell organelles; esp. the dissolution of bacterial cells brought about by bacteriophages. E20.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲