Hemozoin

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Hemozoin

Hemozoin (/hɛˈmoʊzoʊɪn/) is a by-product of the digestion of hemoglobin by certain parasitic organisms, most notably malaria parasites. The term is derived from the Greek words "hemo" (blood) and "zoin" (animal life).

Etymology

The term "hemozoin" is derived from the Greek words "hemo" (blood) and "zoin" (animal life). It was first used in the late 19th century to describe the crystalline pigment found in the blood of animals infected with certain parasites.

Function

Hemozoin is produced by parasites such as the Plasmodium species, which cause malaria, as a means of detoxifying the free heme released during the digestion of hemoglobin. The heme is toxic to the parasites, so they convert it into an insoluble crystalline form, hemozoin.

Related Terms

  • Hemoglobin: The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to the body's tissues and returns carbon dioxide from the tissues back to the lungs.
  • Parasite: An organism that lives in or on an organism of another species (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other's expense.
  • Malaria: A disease caused by a plasmodium parasite, transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes.
  • Plasmodium: A genus of parasitic protozoa, many of which cause malaria in their hosts.

See Also

  • Heme: An iron-containing compound of the porphyrin class which forms the nonprotein part of hemoglobin and some other biological molecules.
  • Protozoa: Single-celled organisms with animal-like behaviors, such as motility and predation.

External links

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