Pronunciation: - ' b ē - ' twelv
Function: noun
Date: 1948
1 : a complex cobalt-containing compound C 63 H 88 CoN 14 O 14 P that occurs especially in liver, is essential to normal blood formation, neural function, and growth, and is used especially in treating pernicious and related anemias and in animal feed as a growth factor ― called also cyanocobalamin
2 : any of several compounds similar to vitamin B 12 in action but having different chemistry