methemoglobin

Or met·hae·mo·glo·bin

[met-hee-muh-gloh-bin, -hem-uh-, -hee-muh-gloh-, -hem-uh-]

noun

Biochemistry.

1. a brownish compound of oxygen and hemoglobin, formed in the blood, as by the use of certain drugs.

Word History and Origins

Origin of methemoglobin¹

First recorded in 1865–70; met- + hemoglobin

Example Sentences

Methemoglobinemia — which, in simplest terms, is a disorder in which the body’s cells do not receive enough oxygen due to an overproduction of methemoglobin — can occur following “exposure to certain medicines, chemicals, or foods,” Healthline states.

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The absorption causes hemoglobin to be converted to methemoglobin, which is incapable of transporting oxygen and so can be fatal to the animal, according to the U.S.

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Nitrates become toxic when bacteria in saliva and the gut convert them to nitrites, which in turn convert hemoglobin into methemoglobin, which can’t deliver oxygen to tissues.

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Then they died because the cell-free hemoglobin changed to methemoglobin which cannot carry life-giving oxygen to suffocating body cells.

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