A compound formed when carbon monoxide binds to hemoglobin in blood, preventing it from carrying oxygen and causing poisoning.
From carboxy- (carbon monoxide, historically carbo + oxy) + hemoglobin (Greek haima, blood + Latin globus, globe). The term describes the dangerous CO-hemoglobin complex.
Carboxyhemoglobin is why car exhaust kills—carbon monoxide grabs onto hemoglobin about 200 times more tightly than oxygen does, essentially suffocating your cells from the inside. It's one of nature's cruelest chemical betrayals.
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