Library · Molecule
Hemoglobin
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Hemoglobin is a protein with iron built into its structure, and its job is to grab oxygen and carry it. It doesn't float loose in the blood: it's packed inside red blood cells, which ferry it from place to place. Open up a red blood cell and look at what's in there, and hemoglobin is what you find.
On a blood test, hemoglobin shows up as a number. If that number is low and the rest of the patient's picture fits, that lines up with what's called anemia. But it works like a warning light on a car's dashboard: it tells you something isn't right without telling you what. The number on its own, with nothing else, doesn't point to where the anemia is coming from.
In brief
Hemoglobin is an iron-rich protein.
If we could look inside a red blood cell, we would find hemoglobin. It is the protein that carries oxygen inside those cells.
In the right clinical context, a low hemoglobin concentration can meet the definition of anemia. Even then, a low value on its own does not identify the underlying cause of the anemia.
Sources (3)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteBlood Tests
- World Health OrganizationAnaemiaPublished
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteAnemiaPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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