This article is about renal dialysis; for the laboratory technique, see
dialysis (biochemistry); for the treatment for liver failure, see
liver dialysis.From
Greek διάλυσις, dialusis (dissolution), from διά, dia (through) + λυσις, lusis (loosening). In
medicine, dialysis is primarily used to provide an artificial replacement for lost
kidney function (
renal replacement therapy) due to
renal failure. Dialysis may be used for very sick patients who have suddenly but temporarily, lost their kidney function (
acute renal failure) or for quite stable patients who have permanently lost their kidney function (
end stage renal failure). When healthy, the kidneys maintain the body's internal equilibrium of water and minerals (sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfate) and the kidneys remove from the blood the daily metabolic load of fixed hydrogen ions. The kidneys also function as a part of the endocrine system producing
erythropoietin and 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (
calcitriol). Dialysis treatments imperfectly replace some of these functions through the
diffusion (waste removal) and
convection (fluid removal). Dialysis is an imperfect treatment to replace kidney function because it does not correct the endocrine functions of the kidney.
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