Book excerpt: This book describes the past, present and future of dialysis and dialysis-related renal replacement therapies so that the reader can acquire a firm grasp of the medical management of acute and chronic renal failure.By becoming thoroughly conversant with the past and present of dialysis, a health care professional will be in a much better position to provide the best standard of care to patients suffering from renal failure. As the book highlights the unsolved operational obstacles in the field of renal replacement therapies, future innovators may be inspired to develop novel solutions to tackle these problems. This remarkable work is a must-read not only for healthcare providers in the dialysis industry, but also for patients, dialysis equipment manufacturers as well as pharmaceutical companies.