Peritoneal Dialysis

PERITONEAL lavage was performed in animals nearly a century ago and for human renal failure nearly half a century ago. Nevertheless, it has gained general acceptance only in the last decade. The subject is reviewed elsewhere,1 2 3 4 5 and this report will be limited to selected conceptual, technical and practical aspects.PrinciplesThe peritoneum has an area approximately that of the glomerular capillaries or of the twin-coil artificial kidney. Its behavior as an inert, semipermeable membrane and the use of "idealized extracellular fluid" as a dialyzing solution allow removal of undesired solutes and fluid from the body and allow acquisition of desired . . .