hirudin

[hir-yuh-din, hir-uh-, hi-rood-n]

noun

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

Origin of hirudin

First recorded in 1900–05; formerly trademark

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for hirudin

hirudin

noun

med an anticoagulant extracted from the mouth glands of leeches

Word Origin for hirudin

C20: from Latin hirudin-, hirudo leech + -in

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

hirudin in Medicine

hirudin

[hĭ-rōōd′n, hîr′ə-dən, -yə-]

n.

A substance extracted from the salivary glands of leeches and used as an anticoagulant.