Definition of "ferritin" [ferritin]

• An iron-containing protein complex, found principally in the intestinal mucosa, spleen, and liver, that functions as the primary form of iron storage in the body. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Your doctor also may check the level of iron in your blood (this is called your serum iron) and the amount of iron that your body is storing (this form of iron is called ferritin)."
• "your doctor will probably also check something called ferritin, which is the storage form of iron and a more accurate reflection of total iron stores."
• "Researchers found that a protein called ferritin binds to and cripples the ability of another blood protein, called HKa, to shut down blood vessel growth."