Heme

Alternative forms

• haem (British)

Full definition of heme

Noun

1. The component of hemoglobin (and other hemoproteins) 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.
• 2008, John Greer, John Foerster, George Rodgers, Fixos Paraskevas, Bertil Glader, Daniel Arber, Robert Means Jr, Wintrobe's Clinical Hematology: Volume One: Twelfth Edition, page 141:The binding of oxygen to the iron molecule causes the hemoglobin molecule to undergo conformational changes that affect the binding of oxygen to other heme sites.

Derived terms

• diheme
• monoheme
• multiheme
• octaheme
• tetraheme
• triheme