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fetal hemoglobin
noun
: a hemoglobin variant that predominates in the blood of a newborn and persists in increased proportions in some forms of anemia (such as thalassemia)
Examples of fetal hemoglobin in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That approach required taking bone marrow cells out of the body, making a disabling cut in a particular gene that regulates fetal hemoglobin, treating the patient with chemotherapy to make room in the marrow, and then reinfusing the edited cells.
—Francis Collins, WIRED, 7 Jan. 2025
The form of hemoglobin that babies make at birth, called fetal hemoglobin (HbF), isn’t affected by the sickle mutation.
—Sara Reardon, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2024
Before birth a fetus with the disease has healthy red blood cells because fetal hemoglobin (HbF) is dominant at that point and is unaffected by the sickle cell mutation.
—Ambroise Wonkam, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2024
Since the 1990s, clinicians have observed that sickle cell patients with higher levels of fetal hemoglobin tend to live longer.
—Charlotte Hu, Vox, 6 May 2024
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Word History
First Known Use
1950, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near fetal hemoglobin
Cite this Entry
“Fetal hemoglobin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fetal%20hemoglobin. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
Medical Definition
fetal hemoglobin
noun
: hemoglobin that consists of two alpha chains and two gamma chains and that predominates in the blood of a newborn and persists in increased proportions in some forms of anemia (as thalassemia)
called also hemoglobin F
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