ABSTRACT
To remove toxins from the body, various blood-purication techniques have been used in clinical practice. e general approach of blood purication is to use a semipermeable membrane that selectively removes the solute by diusion, convection, and, optionally, adsorption. Blood-purication techniques can be broadly divided into two categories: intracorporeal therapies and extracorporeal therapies. In peritoneal dialysis, an example of an intracorporeal therapy, the native peritoneal membrane, which covers most of the intra-abdominal organs and forms the lining of the peritoneal cavity, functions as a semipermeable membrane. In contrast, during extracorporeal therapy, polymer membranes and sorbent cartridges are used to remove toxins and excess body water by concentration-driven, pressure-driven, electrochemical force, and specic antibody-driven operations. Currently, various combinations of hollow-ber membrane and sorbents support or replace internal organ functions. is chapter focuses on basic principles and clinical applications of extracorporeal blood-purication techniques to provide insights into contemporary and emerging blood-ltering techniques.
