Glossary

A person whose blood is low in red blood cells has anemia. Anemia is common in people with kidney disease. Learn More.

A fistula is an opening or connection between any two parts of the body that are usually separate. A surgeon creates an AV fistula by connecting an artery directly to a vein, frequently in the forearm. Learn More.

A graft is a vascular access that connects an artery to a vein using a synthetic tube implanted under the skin in your arm. A graft can be used if you have small veins that won’t develop properly into a fistula. Learn More.

Calcium is a mineral that builds and strengthens bones. Hypercalcemia is too much calcium in the blood. Learn More.

When kidneys fail, dialysis is necessary to remove waste products from the blood. To see whether dialysis is removing enough waste products, the dialysis clinic should periodically measure dialysis adequacy. Two methods are generally used to assess dialysis adequacy, URR and Kt/V. Learn More.

Healthy kidneys clean your blood by removing excess fluid, minerals, and wastes. They also make hormones that keep your bones strong and your blood healthy. When your kidneys fail, harmful wastes build up in your body, your blood pressure may rise, and your body may retain excess fluid and not make enough red blood cells. When this happens, you need treatment to replace the work of your failed kidneys. Learn More.

Hemodialysis is the most common method used to treat advanced and permanent kidney failure. In hemodialysis, your blood is allowed to flow, a few ounces at a time, through a special filter that removes wastes and extra fluids. The clean blood is then returned to your body. Learn More.

Hemoglobin is a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A blood test can tell how much hemoglobin you have in your blood. Learn More.

Some dialysis facilities offer training to help dialysis patients and a helper, if needed, learn to do their hemodialysis treatments in their homes. Patients start learning to do treatments in the dialysis facility with a dialysis nurse, then transition to home hemodialysis when they are ready. Learn More.

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is an alternative treatment to hemodialysis that allows you more control over your treatments. In PD, a soft tube called a catheter is used to fill your abdomen with a cleansing liquid called dialysis solution. The walls of your abdominal cavity are lined with a membrane called the peritoneum, which allows waste products and extra fluid to pass from your blood into the dialysis solution. The solution contains a sugar called dextrose that will pull wastes and extra fluid into the abdominal cavity. These wastes and fluid then leave your body when the dialysis solution is drained. The used solution, containing wastes and extra fluid, is then thrown away. Learn More.

Phosphorus is a mineral that helps keep your bones healthy. Learn More.

When kidneys fail, dialysis is necessary to remove waste products such as urea from the blood. By itself, urea is only mildly toxic, but a high urea level means that the levels of many other waste products that are more harmful and not as easily measured are also building up. Learn More.

A vascular access is the site on your body where blood is removed and returned during dialysis. To maximize the amount of blood cleansed during hemodialysis treatments, the vascular access should allow continuous high volume of blood flow. Learn More.

A catheter is a tube inserted into a vein in your neck, chest, or leg near the groin. It has two chambers to allow a two-way flow of blood. Once a catheter is placed needle insertion is not necessary. Learn More.