hemochromogen, compound of the iron-containing pigment heme with a protein or other substance. The hemochromogens include hemoglobin, found in red blood cells, and the cytochromes, which are widely distributed compounds important to oxidation processes in animals and plants.
More specifically, hemochromogen may refer to a derivative of hemoglobin in which heme is combined with a globin modified by the action of a strong alkali. This compound is useful in determining whether a stain is blood because it can be formed from an old blood stain and because, of all blood pigments, it can be identified in the greatest dilution.