hirudin

American

[hir-yuh-din, hir-uh-, hi-rood-n] / ˈhɪr jə dɪn, ˈhɪr ə-, hɪˈrud n /

noun

a gray or white, water-soluble acidic polypeptide obtained from the buccal gland of leeches, used in medicine chiefly as an anticoagulant.

hirudin British

/ hɪˈruːdɪn /

noun

med an anticoagulant extracted from the mouth glands of leeches

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of hirudin

First recorded in 1900–05; formerly trademark

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

hirudin

Clotting is prevented by the injection of a harmless substance derived from leeches, known as hirudin.

From The War Terror by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023