What is "phosphorylethanolamine"

n. (context chemistry English) An ethanolamine derivative that is used to construct sphingomyelins.

Phosphorylethanolamine or phosphoethanolamine is an ethanolamine derivative that is used to construct two different categories of phospholipids. One category termed a glycerophospholipid and the other a sphingomyelin, or more specifically within the sphingomyelin class, a sphingophospholipid. This chemical possesses two pKa values: 5.61 and 10.39.