Lysis is a biological term that refers to the process by which cells are broken down or destroyed. This can occur through various means, such as enzymatic digestion, chemical treatment, or mechanical disruption. Lysis is often used in laboratory procedures to release cellular contents for analysis or to kill bacteria through exposure to agents that break open their cell walls. The process of lysis is also associated with the rupturing of cells during viral replication, where the virus takes control of the host cell's machinery to produce new copies of itself and ultimately causes the cell to burst apart.