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Devices designed to oxygenate venous blood. Gas exchange occurs between blood and gaseous oxygen, incorporating oxygen to blood while taking out carbon dioxide from it. These devices are usually manufactured for extracorporeal gas transfer; most oxygenators incorporate a heat exchanger to control the temperature of the blood. Two types of oxygenators are in current use: the bubble oxygenator and the more widely used membrane oxygenator; Oxygenators are mostly used attached to heart-lung bypass units during open-heart surgery, they are also used in patients with respiratory distress syndrome or respiratory insufficiencies.
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