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Definition

noun

An extracorporeal ultrafiltration technique applied to patients with acute renal failure whereby blood is cleansed by first removing it from the body and filtered through a system of extracorporeal filters. Waste products, toxins and non-cellular water are removed and substituted by a replacement solution infused into the extracorporeal circuit before the blood is finally returned into the body.

Supplement

Haemofiltration is different from a related technique, hemodialysis. Haemofiltration involves the convective removal of wastes while hemodialysis involves diffusion in dialysis. In haemofiltration, the blood is pumped through a hemofilter or a dialyzer similar in dialysis, but no dialysate is used.

Haemofiltration can also be applied in combination with hemodialysis, a technique called hemodiafiltration.

Word origin: Greek haîma (blood)

Variant: hemofiltration

Compare: haemodialysis