membrane oxygenator

noun

Medical Definition of membrane oxygenator

: a device that adds oxygen and removes carbon dioxide from the blood of a patient especially during cardiac surgery and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and that consists of a semipermeable membrane which allows for the exchange of respiratory gases Artificial pumps will force the blood through Jessica's eight-pound body, and a complex contraption called a membrane oxygenator will pull carbon dioxide out of her blood, exchanging it for oxygen.— Perri Klass, Discover, November 1988