Biological artificial kidney and its replacement: principles of translation

Abstract

This is the first one of a series of three educational articles written for the Society of dialysis and transplant patients in the Czech Republic. It elucidates principal physical phenomena – diffusion, filtration, convection, and osmosis – and their different exploitation in biological kidney and in its technical substitute based on extracorporeal blood cleaning methods – haemodialysis, haemofiltration and haemodiafiltration.