5.3.14

Dialysis

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Dialysis

Dialysis is one possible treatment for kidney failure. It is an essential treatment for people whose kidneys cannot keep the concentrations of urea and salt at an optimum level to ensure that tissue damage does not occur.

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The dialysis machine

  • The patient is linked up to the dialysis machine and their blood flows into the machine.
  • The machine contains a fluid that is designed to have the optimum concentrations of salts (e.g. sodium and potassium ions) and glucose, as would be found in a healthy person’s blood.
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The dialysis fluid

  • The patient's blood passes over a partially permeable membrane in the machine that is designed to replicate the kidney tubules.
  • The dialysis fluid is on the other side of the membrane. A concentration gradient is established, allowing excess ions and urea to diffuse from an area of high concentration in the patient’s blood to an area of low concentration in the dialysis fluid.

Jump to other topics

1Cell Biology

1.1What's in Cells?

1.2Cell Division

1.3Transport in Cells

2Organisation

2.1Principles of Organisation

2.2Enzymes

2.3Circulatory System

2.4Non-Communicable Diseases

2.5Plant Tissues, Organs & Systems

3Infection & Response

4Bioenergetics

5Homeostasis & Response

5.1Homeostasis

5.2The Human Nervous System

5.3Hormonal Coordination in Humans

5.4Plant Hormones

6Inheritance, Variation & Evolution

7Ecology

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