Question
Describe the process of hemodialysis.

Answer

  • Blood from the artery of an uremia patient is taken, cooled to 0°C and mixed with an anticoagulant like heparin.
  • It is put into the cellophane tubes of the artificial kidney, where cellophane is permeable to micromolecules, but not to macromolecules like plasma protein.
  • Outside the cellophane tube is the dialysing fluid, which has the same composition as that of plasma except the nitrogenous molecules like urea, uric acid, creatine, etc.
  • Hence, the nitrogenous molecules from within the cellophane tubes flow into the dialysing fluid, following concentration gradient. (dialysis)
  • The blood coming out of the artificial kidney is warmed to body temperature, mixed with antiheparin and restored to a vein of the patient.

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