Kidneys - failure and solution Flashcards
What happens in the body when kidneys failure
urea builds up
+
unable to regulate water and mineral ions conc.
What are the two treatments for a kidney failure
dialysis or a transplant
What does a dialysis machine act like
an artificial kidney
What does the patient have to connect to the dialysis machine
blood supply
What is dialysis fluid and how does it allow for patients blood supply to return to healthy level
dialysis fluid is a mixture of different substances which is alongside the blood supply in the dialysis machine with a semi permeable membrane between it.
What substances are in the dialysis fluid and at what concentration
In the dialysis fluid there is
glucose
water
mineral ions
ALL kept at levels of healthy blood so excess (if any) in patient can diffuse or move through osmosis (water) into the fluid.
Importantly what substance is kept LOW in conc in the dialysis fluid
UREA to promote movement of it out the bloodstream through diffusion
How is a concentration gradient maintained in a dialysis fluid
new fluid is continuously passed through and old moves out
Why is it important to control water conc in body
to ensure blood pressure isn’t too high with excess water
AND
ensure cells don’t burst
What are the problems with dialysis (6)
time consuming
unpleasant experience
cause infections
cause blood clots
required for rest of life
EXPENSIVE TO RUN
Apart from dialysis how else can someone treat kidney failure
A transplant
Who can transplants be from
recently dead people
or
living people with 2 working kidneys
What are the two risks one small one major with a kidney transplant
the minor risk is the surgery needed
the major risk = rejection of the kidney due to immune response
How do you avoid rejection of kidney
take immunno suppressants which passify immune response
What are the benefits of kidney transplant
no need for dialysis so normal lifestyle
