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Concept
Artificial kidney
Summary
Artificial kidney is often a synonym for hemodialysis, but may also refer to the other renal replacement therapies (with exclusion of kidney transplantation) that are in use and/or in development. This article deals mainly with bioengineered kidneys/bioartificial kidneys that are grown from renal cell lines/renal tissue.
The first successful artificial kidney was developed by Willem Kolff in the Netherlands during the early 1940s: Kolff was the first to construct a working dialyzer in 1943.
Kidneys are paired vital organs located behind the abdominal cavity at the bottom of the ribcage corresponding to the levels T12-L3 of the spine vertebrae. They perform about a dozen physiologic functions and are fairly easily damaged. Some of these functions include filtration and excretion of metabolic waste products, regulation of necessary electrolytes and fluids and stimulation of red blood cell-production. These organs routinely filter about 100 to 140 liters of blood a day to produce 1 to 2 liters of urine, composed of wastes and excess fluid.
Kidney failure results in the slow accumulation of nitrogenous wastes, salts, water, and disruption of the body's normal pH balance. This failure typically occurs over a long period of time, and when the patient's renal function declines enough over the course of the disease, is commonly known as end stage renal disease (ESRD; which is also known as Level 5 or 6 kidney disease, depending on whether dialysis or renal replacement therapy is used). Detecting kidney disease before the kidneys start to shut down is uncommon, with high blood pressure and decreased appetite being symptoms that indicate a problem. Diabetes and high blood pressure are seen as the 2 most common causes of kidney failure. Experts predict that the demand for dialysis will increase as the prevalence of diabetes increases. Until the Second World War, kidney failure generally meant death for the patient. Several insights into kidney function and acute kidney failure were made during the war.
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