Abstract
The idea has existed since the days of Hipocrates that diseases were resulted from toxic substances accumulated in the body, and thus depletion had been already attempted to prevent and treat them. In 1914, Abel attempted the first blood purification by centrifuging type plasma separation. Dialysis, diafiltration, adsorbtion, and plasma separation have been developed for blood purification, and today they are applied widely to remove toxic substances from the blood. However, toxic substances vary according to the types of the diseases, and some of them are not yet identified. In this paper, the history, present status, and problems of blood purification will be discussed.
