dialysis

noun

di·​al·​y·​sis dī-ˈa-lə-səs 

plural dialyses dī-ˈa-lə-ˌsēz 

1

: the separation of substances in solution by means of their unequal diffusion through semipermeable membranes

especially : such a separation of colloids from soluble substances

2

: the process of removing blood from an artery (as of a patient affected with kidney failure), purifying it by dialysis, adding vital substances, and returning it to a vein

called also hemodialysis

dialytic

ˌdī-ə-ˈli-tik 

adjective

Examples of dialysis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ex Trump Attorney John Eastman Should Be Disbarred Over 2020 Election Interference Charges Judge Says In 2018, DaVita, a kidney dialysis company whose shareholders include Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management, spent $66.6 million to defeat a pro-patient ballot measure. —Ian Simmons, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024

If these type of transplants for kidneys prove to work and be safe -- this could one day make dialysis unnecessary for the more than 500,000 people in the U.S. who require it to live. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 21 Mar. 2024

DaVita, a dialysis clinic chain, spent more than $450,000 promoting Krell. —Lindsey Holden, Sacramento Bee, 6 Mar. 2024

But after five years, that kidney started to fail, requiring him to go on dialysis and regularly go to the hospital to address complications. —Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 Mar. 2024

Over 800,000 Americans have kidney failure and require dialysis, a procedure that filters toxins from the blood. —Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024

Severe kidney disease had upended their once-active lives and tethered them to dialysis machines. —Daniel Wu, Washington Post, 28 Jan. 2024

Meanwhile the transplant wait list continues to grow, with more than 100,000 patients waiting for kidneys while millions suffer on dialysis without making it to the list. —Joshua Mezrich, STAT, 2 Mar. 2024

The mania over these drugs is drawing responses from businesses as varied as airlines, dialysis centers and big box chains, sending stock markets into a frenzy. —Emma Court, Fortune Well, 31 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek, separation, from dialyein to dissolve, from dia- + lyein to loosen — more at lose

First Known Use

1861, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

dialysis

noun

di·​al·​y·​sis dī-ˈal-ə-səs 

plural dialyses -ə-ˌsēz 

1

: the separation of substances in solution by means of their unequal diffusion through membranes with pores of a specified maximum size

especially : such a separation of colloids from dissolved substances

2

: the process of removing blood from an artery (as of a patient with failing kidneys), purifying it by dialysis, and returning it to a vein

Medical Definition

dialysis

noun

di·​al·​y·​sis dī-ˈal-ə-səs 

plural dialyses -ˌsēz 

1

: the separation of substances in solution by means of their unequal diffusion through semipermeable membranes

especially : such a separation of colloids from soluble substances

2

: either of two medical procedures to remove wastes or toxins from the blood and adjust fluid and electrolyte imbalances by utilizing rates at which substances diffuse through a semipermeable membrane:

a

: the process of removing blood from an artery (as of a kidney patient), purifying it by dialysis, adding vital substances, and returning it to a vein

called also hemodialysis

b

: a procedure performed in the peritoneal cavity in which the peritoneum acts as the semipermeable membrane

called also peritoneal dialysis

dialytic

ˌdī-ə-ˈlit-ik 

adjective