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vitamin B12

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noun
a deep-red crystalline, water-soluble solid, C63H88N14O14PCo, obtained from liver, milk, eggs, fish, oysters, and clams: a deficiency causes pernicious anemia and disorders of the nervous system.

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Origin of vitamin B12

First recorded in 1945–50
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use vitamin B12 in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for vitamin B12

vitamin B12

noun
another name for cyanocobalamin
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

Scientific definitions for vitamin B12

vitamin B12

A water-soluble, complex organic compound containing cobalt, found especially in meat, liver, eggs, milk, and milk products. Vitamin B12 is necessary for the synthesis of DNA by the body, for the production of blood cells, and for maintaining the health of nerves. A deficiency of vitamin B12 in the diet results in pernicious anemia. Also called cobalamin cyanocobalamin
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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