English

Alternative forms

• heme (US)

Noun

haem ‎(countable and uncountable, plural haems)

1. The component of haemoglobin responsible for binding oxygen, consists of an iron ion that binds oxygen and a porphyrin ring that binds the globin molecules; one molecule binds one molecule of oxygen.
   • 2010, Pierre Cornelis and Simon Andrews (editors), Iron Uptake and Homeostasis in Microorganisms, page 17:

     Haem is ubiquitous, abundant and necessary for energy metabolism. Most bacteria have a haem biosynthesis pathway, but nevertheless, since haem is a major source of iron (an essential metal), microbes take up exogenous haem to retrieve iron.

Translations

See also

• haemoglobin
• bilirubin
• red blood cell
• Wikipedia article on haem

Anagrams

• ahem
• hame