Mechanical hemolytic anemia is a form of hemolytic anemia

Hemolytic anemia

Hemolytic anemia is a form of anemia due to hemolysis, the abnormal breakdown of red blood cells , either in the blood vessels or elsewhere in the human body . It has numerous possible causes, ranging from relatively harmless to life-threatening...

 due to mechanically induced damage to red blood cell

Red blood cell

Red blood cells are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate organism's principal means of delivering oxygen to the body tissues via the blood flow through the circulatory system...

s. Red blood cells, while flexible, may in some circumstances succumb to physical shear and compression. This may result in hemoglobinuria

Hemoglobinuria

In medicine, hemoglobinuria or haemoglobinuria is a condition in which the oxygen transport protein hemoglobin is found in abnormally high concentrations in the urine. The condition is often associated with hemolytic anemia, in which red blood cells are destroyed, thereby increasing levels of free...

. Some forms are self-inflicted (march hemoglobinuria), if not intentionally, through repeated mechanical motions. Examples include marathon running, prolonged marching

Marching

See also: Loaded marchMarching refers to the organized, uniformed, steady and rhythmic walking forward, usually associated with military troops.Marching is often performed to march music, and often associated with military parades....

, and bongo drumming. The other common form, called microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, is a chronic condition due to prosthetic heart valves.