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Equipment designed to perform hemodialysis, a treatment intended to remove large amounts of water, toxins, and wastes from the blood. Typically blood is taken via an extracorporeal circuit, passed through an extracorporeal dialyzer to decrease biochemical abnormalities as well as fluid, electrolyte, and acid-base imbalances, and then returned to the patient. Hemodialysis units are used mainly for partial substitution of the kidney (i.e., renal) or liver (i.e., hepatic) function; they are also used to treat other acute diseases.
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