Canadian Medical Guide > Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment > Equipment and Supplies > Surgical Equipment > Artificial Organs Terms and Definitions

Artificial Organs

Medical Definition:	Devices intended to replace non-functioning organs. They may be temporary or permanent. Since they are intended always to function as the natural organs they are replacing, they should be differentiated from PROSTHESES AND IMPLANTS and specific types of prostheses which, though also replacements for body parts, are frequently cosmetic (EYE, ARTIFICIAL) as well as functional (ARTIFICIAL LIMBS).
Guide Notes:	usually to replace function, as HEART, ARTIFICIAL or KIDNEY, ARTIFICIAL: do not confuse with PROSTHESES AND IMPLANTS which is usually cosmetic; not for injections, like silicones, to replace substance; coord IM with specific organ (IM) with no qualif but

Artificial Organs Categories.

	Bioartificial Organs - Artificial organs that are composites of biomaterials and cells. The biomaterial can act as a membrane (container) as in BIOARTIFICIAL LIVER or a scaffold as in bioartificial skin.
	Heart-Lung Machine - Apparatus that provides mechanical circulatory support during open-heart surgery, by passing the heart to facilitate surgery on the organ. The basic function of the machine is to oxygenate the body's venous supply of blood and then pump it back into the arterial system. The machine also provides intracardiac suction, filtration, and temperature control. Some of the more important components of these machines include pumps, oxygenators, temperature regulators, and filters. (UMDNS, 1999)
	Kidney, Artificial - Device(s) which can substitute for normally functioning kidneys in cleansing the blood.
	Liver, Artificial - Devices for simulating the activities of the liver. They often consist of a hybrid between both biological and artificial materials.
	Pacemaker, Artificial - A device designed to stimulate, by electric impulses, contraction of the heart muscles. It may be temporary (external) or permanent (internal or internal-external).
	Pancreas, Artificial - Devices for simulating the activity of the pancreas. They can be either electromechanical, consisting of a glucose sensor, computer, and insulin pump or bioartificial, consisting of isolated islets of Langerhans in an artificial membrane.
	Skin, Artificial - Synthetic material used for the treatment of burns and other conditions involving large-scale loss of skin. It often consists of an outer (epidermal) layer of silicone and an inner (dermal) layer of collagen and chondroitin 6-sulfate. The dermal layer elicits new growth and vascular invasion and the outer layer is later removed and replaced by a graft.

Artificial Organs Medical Definitions and Terms

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