ekstrakorporaalinen

Extrakorporaalinen, a Finnish term, translates to "extracorporeal" in English. This medical term refers to any procedure or treatment that takes place outside of the body. It implies that a biological substance, such as blood or organs, is removed from the body for treatment, monitoring, or analysis and then returned, or a process is performed on it externally before being returned or discarded.

One of the most well-known examples of an extracorporeal procedure is hemodialysis, used for patients with kidney failure. In this process, blood is pumped out of the body, passed through a dialysis machine that filters waste products and excess fluid, and then returned to the body. Another significant application is extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a life-support technique that provides both cardiac and respiratory support to patients whose lungs and/or hearts are so severely diseased or damaged that they cannot function sufficiently. ECMO artificially replicates the function of the heart and lungs by circulating blood through an artificial lung that oxygenates the blood and removes carbon dioxide.

Other extracorporeal treatments include plasmapheresis, where plasma is separated from blood cells, and therapeutic apheresis, which uses specialized equipment to remove harmful substances from the blood. These procedures are crucial for managing a variety of medical conditions, offering a vital lifeline when internal bodily functions are compromised. The concept of extracorporeal treatment highlights the ability of modern medicine to temporarily take over or assist vital biological processes outside the human body.