erythropoietin

1 9.9

A chemical made by the kidneys that tells bone marrow to make red blood cells

noun
/ˌɛrɪθroʊpɔɪˈɛtɪn/

Specialized

: eritropoyetina

Patients with anemia may receive erythropoietin injections to help their bodies produce more red blood cells.
erythropoietin hormone
synthetic erythropoietin
recombinant erythropoietin

Examples

And some of them you'll recognize erythropoietin, commonly called EPO.
For anemia treatment, the use of erythropoietin is easy to identify.

Academic text (2007)
And the way we can do that is in part through a hormone called erythropoietin EPO.
Whether or not erythropoietin treatment is cost-effective in the CKD population is open to question.

Academic text (2007)
The kidneys are also responsible for the production of three important hormones: erythropoietin, renin, and vitamin D.

Academic text (2012)
Erythropoietin stimulates the production of red blood cells; renin is involved in the control of blood pressure, and vitamin D controls calcium uptake and helps make strong bones.

Academic text (2012)
The body produces erythropoietin to stimulate the formation of red blood cells in response to low oxygen levels.
When the kidneys detect low oxygen in the blood, they release erythropoietin to increase red blood cell production.

Surface Forms

erythropoietin singular

erythropoietins plural

Morphology

erythropoietin = erythro + poiet + in

In scientific vocabulary, 'erythro-' signals red and the remaining elements indicate a formative substance, so the word broadly suggests something involved in red-blood-cell production, but the exact meaning as a specific kidney-produced hormone is specialized.

Etymology

Erythropoietin comes from the parts erythro- meaning 'red' and -poietin meaning 'to make', so its name can be remembered as 'maker of red blood cells'. That's why erythropoietin is the hormone that tells the body to make more red blood cells.