1.
[syn: hemoglobin, haemoglobin, Hb]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Hemoglobin \Hem"o*glo"bin\, n. [Hemo- + globe.] (Physiol.)
The normal coloring matter of the red blood corpuscles of
vertebrate animals. It is composed of hematin and globulin,
and is also called h[ae]matoglobulin. In arterial blood, it
is always combined with oxygen, and is then called
oxyhemoglobin. It crystallizes under different forms from
different animals, and when crystallized, is called
h[ae]matocrystallin. See Blood crystal, under Blood.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
hemoglobin
n 1: a hemoprotein composed of globin and heme that gives red
blood cells their characteristic color; function primarily
to transport oxygen from the lungs to the body tissues;
"fish have simpler hemoglobin than mammals" [syn:
hemoglobin, haemoglobin, Hb]