text: Methemoglobinemia is a disorder where a large fraction of hemoglobin in one's blood has converted to inactive forms, generically called methemoglobin.  Since methemoglobin is not an oxygen-carrier, methemoglobinemia is a serious disorder, sometimes fatal.  Exposure to nitrobenzene, aniline, and their derivatives cause this disorder, which is attributed to their conversion to nitrosobenzene (and derivatives), which inactivate hemoglobin by forming a complex with the Fe center, precluding binding of O.