myoglobin

[ mahy-uh-gloh-bin, mahy-uh-gloh- ]

noun

, Biochemistry.

1. hemoglobin of muscle, weighing less and carrying more oxygen and less carbon monoxide than blood hemoglobin.

myoglobin

/ ˌmaɪəʊˈɡləʊbɪn /

noun

1. a protein that is the main oxygen-carrier of muscle

myoglobin

/ mī′ə-glō′bĭn /

1. An iron-containing protein found in muscle fibers, consisting of heme connected to a single peptide chain that resembles one of the subunits of hemoglobin. Myoglobin combines with oxygen released by red blood cells and transfers it to the mitochondria of muscle cells, where it is used to produce energy.

Word History and Origins

Origin of myoglobin¹

First recorded in 1920–25; myo- + globin

Example Sentences

The meatball was made of sheep cells inserted with a singular mammoth gene called myoglobin.

From Reuters

That’s because this wasn’t blood; it was a hemoglobin cousin, myoglobin, the oxygen-carrying component of muscle, which is released into the bloodstream after an injury.

From New York Times

It’s actually myoglobin, a protein that gives meat and its juices their red color.

From Fox News

His urine was dark because the oxygen-carrying parts of the muscle known as myoglobin were collecting in the kidneys.

From New York Times

The authors showed that the protein AncMH, the last common ancestor of haemoglobin and the related protein myoglobin, existed as a monomer.

From Nature