haptoglobin

noun

hap·​to·​glo·​bin ˈhap-tə-ˌglō-bən 

: any of several forms of an alpha globulin found in blood serum that can combine with free hemoglobin in the plasma and thereby prevent the loss of iron into the urine

Examples of haptoglobin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

If more blood is being destroyed than usual, the level of haptoglobin drops. —Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 18 Apr. 2018

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French haptoglobine, shortened from earlier prosaptoglobine, from Greek prosáptein "to fasten, attach to" (from pros- pros- + háptein "to fasten") + French -o- -o- + globine globin — more at haptics

Note: Term introduced by the French biochemist Michel Polonovski (1889-1954) and the endocrinologist Max-Fernand Jayle (1913-78) in "Sur la préparation d'une nouvelle fraction des protéines plasmatiques, l'haptoglobine," Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences, tome 211 (juillet-décembre, 1940), pp. 517-19.

First Known Use

1941, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

haptoglobin

noun

hap·​to·​glo·​bin ˈhap-tə-ˌglō-bən 

: any of several forms of an alpha globulin found in blood serum that can combine with free hemoglobin in the plasma and thereby prevent the loss of iron into the urine