What is the treatment for renal failure that uses an artificial kidney machine to filter waste from the blood?

What is the treatment for renal failure that uses an artificial kidney machine to filter waste from the blood?

• A. Peritoneal dialysis
• B. Renal transplantation
• C. Hemodialysis
• D. Nephrectomy

Answer: (C)

Hemodialysis is the method that uses an artificial kidney machine to clean the blood when kidneys can’t. In this therapy, blood is drawn from the body and passed through a dialyzer, a device with a semipermeable membrane. On one side is blood; on the other is dialysate. Waste products such as urea and creatinine diffuse across the membrane into the dialysate, while fluid is removed by ultrafiltration. The cleaned blood is then returned to circulation. This process substitutes the filtering and fluid-regulating functions of the failing kidneys and is usually done several times a week in a dialysis center or sometimes at home. Access to the bloodstream is typically via an arteriovenous fistula or graft, or sometimes a catheter. Peritoneal dialysis achieves similar cleanup but uses the peritoneal membrane in the abdomen rather than an external machine. Renal transplantation replaces the kidneys with a donor organ, restoring function rather than filtering through a machine. Nephrectomy is surgical removal of a kidney and is not a dialysis treatment.

Hemodialysis is the method that uses an artificial kidney machine to clean the blood when kidneys can’t. In this therapy, blood is drawn from the body and passed through a dialyzer, a device with a semipermeable membrane. On one side is blood; on the other is dialysate. Waste products such as urea and creatinine diffuse across the membrane into the dialysate, while fluid is removed by ultrafiltration. The cleaned blood is then returned to circulation. This process substitutes the filtering and fluid-regulating functions of the failing kidneys and is usually done several times a week in a dialysis center or sometimes at home. Access to the bloodstream is typically via an arteriovenous fistula or graft, or sometimes a catheter.

Peritoneal dialysis achieves similar cleanup but uses the peritoneal membrane in the abdomen rather than an external machine. Renal transplantation replaces the kidneys with a donor organ, restoring function rather than filtering through a machine. Nephrectomy is surgical removal of a kidney and is not a dialysis treatment.