oxygenator
[ok´sĭ-jĕ-na″tor] an apparatus by which oxygen is introduced into the blood during circulation outside the body, as during open-heart surgery. See also
heart-lung machine.
bubble oxygenator a device in which pure oxygen is bubbled through an extracorporeal reservoir of blood, either directly or through a filter.
film oxygenator a device, encased in a container of oxygen, that makes possible reduction of a thin film of blood to facilitate the exchange of gases.
rotating disk oxygenator a type of film oxygenator in which a series of parallel disks rotate through an extracorporeal pool of venous blood in a container of oxygen; gaseous exchange occurs between the thin film of blood on the exposed surface of the disks and the oxygen in the container.
screen oxygenator a type of film oxygenator in which the venous blood is passed over a series of screens in a container of oxygen, gaseous exchange taking place in the thin film of blood produced on the screens.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.