Definitions for: Melanin


[n] insoluble pigments that account for the color of e.g. skin and scales and feathers



Webster (1913) Definition: Mel"a*nin, n. [Gr. me`las, -anos, black.] (Physiol.)
A black pigment found in the pigment-bearing cells of the
skin (particularly in the skin of the negro), in the
epithelial cells of the external layer of the retina (then
called fuscin), in the outer layer of the choroid, and
elsewhere. It is supposed to be derived from the
decomposition of hemoglobin.

See Also: animal pigment, cutis, feather, plumage, plume, skin, tegument

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