Extracorporeal circulation
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Extracorporeal circulation refers to pumping of blood in a circuit outside the body. This is commonly used as a part of a cardiopulmonary bypass circuit for cardiac surgery. Basically, deoxygenated blood is oxygenated and pumped back into a major artery, usually the aorta, enabling the function of the heart and lungs to be temporarily overtaken.
The circuit involves tubings, a pump, and an oxygenator (a device that adds oxygen to the hemoglobin in blood). The basic problems in designing this circuit historically involved keeping blood fluid outside the body, reliable oxygenation, and pumping without damaging blood and handling the violent "burn like" inflammatory response that is evoked when blood comes in contact with foreign surfaces.
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