Heparin

//ˈhɛp.ə.ɹɪn// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A compound occurring in the liver and other tissues which inhibits blood coagulation. A sulfur-containing polysaccharide, it is used as an anticoagulant in the treatment of thrombosis. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    a polysaccharide produced in basophils (especially in the lung and liver) and that inhibits the activity of thrombin in coagulation of the blood; it (trade names Lipo-Hepin and Liquaemin) is used as an anticoagulant in the treatment of thrombosis and in heart surgery wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
lipo-hepinliquaemin

Example

More examples

"Heparin is a blood-thinning medicine made from pig intestines, which often come from small farms in China. The drug is often used to prevent blockages during kidney dialysis treatment and different operations."

Etymology

From Latin hepar (“liver”) + -in.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.