Skip to main content
heme

heme

2 8.2
Small red part of blood that contains iron and carries oxygen
  • noun
  • /hiːm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : heme
  • To demonstrate the presence of heme, scientists examined samples of blood under a microscope.
  • heme molecules
  • heme iron

So there is heme iron that you find in meat and there is non heme iron that you find in plants.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • It has two heme groups, here and here, and life is using these heme groups to manipulate oxygen precisely.

  • She didn't find DNA, but she did find heme, which is the biological foundation of hemoglobin.

  • So there is heme iron that you find in meat and there is non heme iron that you find in plants.

  • Another adds an iron containing molecule called heme, which their team says is key to its meaty flavor.

  • You could literally get your heme iron from clams, oysters and mussels and from eggs.

  • Iron supplements are not needed because the rapid breakdown of RBCs provides a constant recycling of heme iron.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Each hemoglobin molecule is composed of four heme molecules attached to one globin molecule.

    Academic text (2003)
  • As blood circulates through the lungs, each iron atom in the four heme molecules binds one oxygen molecule.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Animal meats, especially organ meats, are a good source of iron because the heme iron in meat hemoglobin can be directly absorbed.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Furthermore, the synthesis of heme, the major functional form of iron in the body, decreases with age and has been linked with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

    Academic text (2018)

Synonyms

hematin
vsheme
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A red substance containing iron made from a blood protein that helps carry oxygen in blood

refers to the pigment present in proteins rather than a form produced from hemoglobin
protoheme
vsheme
  • Specialized
9.9

A red part of blood with iron that helps carry oxygen

emphasizes the pigment's role in carrying oxygen through the blood
haem
vsheme
  • UK
9.8

A red part of a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen

focuses on its pigment nature and role in transporting oxygen in blood
haemitin
vsheme
  • UK
9.9

A red substance in blood with iron that helps carry oxygen

applies more broadly to the pigment found in hemoglobin and other molecules

Surface Forms

heme singular
hemes plural

Etymology

The word heme comes from the Greek word haima, which means 'blood'. You can see the same root in words like hemoglobin, so heme is the red part of blood that helps carry oxygen.