What is Dialysis
Dialysis is a process for removing waste and excess water from the blood, and is used primarily as an artificial replacement for lost Kidney Function in people with renal failure.
Blood is removed from the body and pumped by a machine outside the body into an Artificial Kidney (Dialyzer).
The Dialyzer filters metabolic waste products from the blood and then returns the purified blood to the person
Dialysis Diagram
Explanation of Dialysis Process
- The blood is extracted from the body from a vein and passed into an Artificial Kidney (Dialyzer), which is a bundle of hollow fibers made of a partially permeable membrane.
- The Artificial Kidney (Dialyzer) contains a solution of dialysing fluid, which has similar concentrations of substances as blood.
- An Artificial Kidney (Dialyzer) only allows wastes to pass through, and not blood cells and proteins. In this way it is similar to the filtration stage of the nephron.
- The wastes diffuse into the solution, and it is constantly replaced.
- The anti-clotting agent, heparin, is also added to prevent clotting.
- The purified blood is then returned to the body.
