Hemodialysis is a procedure that patients who have limited or virtually non-exis

Question

Hemodialysis is a procedure that patients who have limited or virtually non-existent kidney function undergo to remove both waste products and extra fluid from their bloodstream. Blood from an artery of a hemodialysis patient is diverted into an artificial kidney where the blood enters numerous tiny fibers. An aqueous salt solution called dialysis fluid flows around these fibers. Waste products, most notably urea, and excess fluid within the blood pass through the fibers and into the dialysis fluid. The purified blood returns to the bloodstream through a vein. Consider the schematic of an artificial kidney below. After a certain amount of time in dialysis treatment, the flow rates and concentrations are as follows.

Explanation / Answer

What is the rate of urea removal from the blood stream?

350ml/min blood * 1.730 mg urea/ml = 605.5 mg urea/min

347.0 mL/min * 1.581 mg Urea/mL = 548.607 mg urea/min

605.5 - 548.607 = 56.893

What is the concentration of urea in the waste dialysis fluid?

56.893 mg urea/min * (1/560 ml dial fluid) = 0.101594 mg urea/ml

In the dialysis example given above, how much fluid is removed from the blood in mL/hour?

350 ml/min - 347 ml/min = 3 ml/min

3 ml/min * 60min/hr = 180 ml/hr

What is the total volume of fluid removed from the blood stream during a 3.65 hour dialysis treatment?

180ml/hr * 3.65 hr = 657 ml

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