Radiology &

Imaging

When kidneys fail, waste products such as urea and creatinine build up in the blood. One way to remove these substances is a process called peritoneal dialysis (PD). The walls of the abdominal cavity are lined with a membrane called the peritoneum. During PD, a mixture of dextrose (sugar), salt and other minerals dissolved in water, called dialysis solution, is placed in a person's abdominal cavity through a catheter. The body's peritoneal membrane allows waste products and extra body fluid to pass from the blood into the dialysis solution. These waste products then leave the body when the solution is drained from the abdomen. In some people, the peritoneum does not allow waste to enter the dialysis solution efficiently enough to make PD feasible.