por·phin 'pȯr-fən also por·phine -.fēn n a deep purple crystalline compound C20H14N4 that is made synthetically from pyrrole and formaldehyde, contains four pyrrole rings joined by =CH- groups so as to give a heterocyclic arrangement, and forms the essential skeletal structure of the porphyrins, heme, and chlorophyll
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n.
a complex nitrogen-containing ring structure and parent compound of the porphyrin.
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por·phin (porґfin) a heterocyclic structure composed of four pyrrole rings connected by methylidyne (
CH
) bridges; it is the parent skeleton of the porphyrins.
Medical dictionary. 2011.