extracorporeal life support

noun

Medical Definition of extracorporeal life support

: life support used when a patient is experiencing cardiac or pulmonary failure unresponsive to conventional therapies (such as mechanical ventilation) that typically involves the continuous extracorporeal oxygenation of blood pumped from the body especially : extracorporeal membrane oxygenation Extracorporeal life support (ECLS, also known as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) is the use of a modified heart-lung machine for days or weeks to support life and permit treatment and recovery during severe cardiac or pulmonary failure. — Robert H. Bartlett et al., The Journal of the American Medical Association, 16 Feb. 2000 —abbreviation ECLS