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hemoglobin
[ hee-muh-gloh-bin, hem-uh- ]
noun
- the oxygen-carrying pigment of red blood cells that gives them their red color and serves to convey oxygen to the tissues: occurs in reduced form deoxyhemoglobin in venous blood and in combination with oxygen oxyhemoglobin in arterial blood. : Hb
hemoglobin
/ hē′mə-glō′bĭn /
- An iron-containing protein present in the blood of many animals that, in vertebrates, carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues of the body and carries carbon dioxide from the tissues to the lungs. Hemoglobin is contained in the red blood cells of vertebrates and gives these cells their characteristic color. Hemoglobin is also found in many invertebrates, where it circulates freely in the blood. It consists of four peptide units, each attached to a nonprotein compound called heme that binds to oxygen.
- See Note at red blood cell
hemoglobin
- A complex organic molecule (see also organic molecules ) containing iron that carries oxygen in the blood .
Notes
Other Words From
- he·mo·glo·bic [hee-m, uh, -, gloh, -bik], he·mo·glo·bin·ous [hee-m, uh, -, gloh, -bi-n, uh, s], adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of hemoglobin1
A Closer Look
Example Sentences
The researchers tracked participants' blood pressure, a marker for blood clot and stroke risk; measured hemoglobin levels to check whether the pumps were breaking red blood cells; and monitored patients for other complications.
Part of this is due to changes in the regulation of the EPAS1 gene, which lowers hemoglobin concentrations by regulating the pathway that responds to changing oxygen levels.
This results from either lower than normal levels of red blood cells or a decrease in the quantity or quality of hemoglobin, the protein that allows these cells to transport oxygen.
This is the first time cytoglobin -- or any of the globin proteins like hemoglobin -- has been found to be involved in fetal development and that a paucity could be linked to birth defects.
Sickle cell disease affects hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen.
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