Which form of dialysis has a patient’s blood pass through a length of tubing that travels through an artificial kidney machine?

• Correct Answer: arterial dialysis
• peritoneal dialysis
• limbic dialysis
• hemodialysis

Explanation: In one form of dialysis, called hemodialysis, a patient’s blood is passed though a length of tubing that travels through an artificial kidney machine (also called adialysis machine). A section of tubing composed of a semipermeable membrane is immersed in a solution of sterile water, glucose, amino acids, and certain electrolytes. The osmotic pressure of the blood forces waste molecules and excess water through the membrane into the sterile solution. Red and white blood cells are too large to pass through the membrane, so they remain in the blood. After being cleansed in this way, the blood is returned to the body. Dialysis is a continuous process, as the osmosis of waste materials and excess water takes time. Typically, 5–10 lb of waste-containing fluid is removed in each dialysis session, which can last 2–8 hours and must be performed several times a week. Although some patients have been on dialysis for 30 or more years, dialysis is always a temporary solution because waste materials are constantly building up in the bloodstream. A more permanent solution is a kidney transplant. Cell walls are semipermeable membranes, so the osmotic pressures of the body’s fluids have important biological consequences. If solutions of different osmolarity exist on either side of the cells, solvent (water) may pass into or out of the cells, sometimes with disastrous results. Consider what happens if red blood cells are placed in a hypotonic solution, meaning a solution of lower osmolarity than the liquid inside the cells. The cells swell up as water enters them, disrupting cellular activity and eventually causing the cells to burst. This process is called hemolysis. If red blood cells are placed in ahypertonic solution, meaning one having a higher osmolarity than exists inside the cells, water leaves the cells to dilute the external solution, and the red blood cells shrivel and die. This process is called crenation. Only if red blood cells are placed inisotonic solutions that have the same osmolarity as exists inside the cells are they unaffected by negative effects of osmotic pressure. Glucose solutions of about 0.31 M, or sodium chloride solutions of about 0.16 M, are isotonic with blood plasma.

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