: an abnormal hemoglobin that occurs in the red blood cells in sickle cell anemia and sickle-cell trait
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebThe result is hemoglobin S—a misshapen version that causes red blood cells to sickle. Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2022 But hemoglobin S congeals into taut strands, making the blood cells that carry it fragile and rigid, as though a balloon were filled with shards of ice. Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2022
Word History
First Known Use
1954, in the meaning defined above
Medical Definition
hemoglobin S
noun
: an abnormal hemoglobin occurring in the red blood cells in sickle cell anemia and sickle-cell trait and differing from hemoglobin A in having a valine residue substituted for the glutamic-acid residue in position 6 of two of the four polypeptide chains making up the hemoglobin molecule