Methemoglobin vs. Carboxyhemoglobin — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Methemoglobin and Carboxyhemoglobin
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Compare with Definitions
Methemoglobin
Methemoglobin (British: methaemoglobin) (pronounced "met-hemoglobin") is a hemoglobin in the form of metalloprotein, in which the iron in the heme group is in the Fe3+ (ferric) state, not the Fe2+ (ferrous) of normal hemoglobin. Sometimes, it is also referred to as ferrihemoglobin.
Carboxyhemoglobin
Carboxyhemoglobin, or carboxyhaemoglobin, (symbol COHb or HbCO) is a stable complex of carbon monoxide and hemoglobin (Hb) that forms in red blood cells upon contact with carbon monoxide. Carboxyhemoglobin is often mistaken for the compound formed by the combination of carbon dioxide (carboxyl) and hemoglobin, which is actually carbaminohemoglobin.
Methemoglobin
A brownish-red form of hemoglobin that occurs when hemoglobin is oxidized either during decomposition of the blood or by the action of various oxidizing drugs or toxic agents. It contains iron in the ferric state and cannot function as an oxygen carrier.
Carboxyhemoglobin
The compound that is formed when inhaled carbon monoxide combines with hemoglobin, binding more tightly than oxygen and rendering the hemoglobin incapable of transporting oxygen.
Methemoglobin
(biochemistry) An oxidized form of hemoglobin, containing ferric rather than ferrous iron, that cannot transport oxygen.
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Carboxyhemoglobin
(protein) The stable complex of carbon monoxide with hemoglobin; it prevents the normal complexing with oxygen and thus leads to anoxia
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