How to Use extracorporeal in a Sentence

extracorporeal

adjective
  • Two days later, the 28-year-old was intubated and placed on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine.
    — Kelsie Smith, CNN, 5 Jan. 2021
  • Treatment might involve a procedure called extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), which is when sound waves are used to try to break up the stone.
    — Korin Miller, SELF, 29 Oct. 2018
  • Josh was put on a life support called ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) that took over his heart and lung functions so his body could rest.
    — Dana Hunsinger Benbow, Indianapolis Star, 9 Feb. 2020
  • And, he had been placed on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine, a device that pumps blood out of the body to give the vital organs time to recuperate during intense bodily stress.
    — Hallie Miller, baltimoresun.com, 10 Jan. 2022
  • These results surpassed all prior attempts at extracorporeal fetal support.
    — Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 28 Mar. 2026
  • He was put on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which is a form of life support.
    — Maggie O'Neill, SELF, 21 Oct. 2022
  • The media outlet said doctors were able to revive Mash with an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine (Ecmo), which took over the functions of her heart and lungs.
    — Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY, 6 Dec. 2019
  • There, he was placed on a machine called ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), which did the work of his heart and lungs to keep him alive while his organs were given time to heal.
    — Kristen Jordan Shamus, USA TODAY, 12 Nov. 2019
  • In cases like Jackson's, doctors use technology called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as a lung bypass machine, redirecting blood outside the body so the lungs have time to heal.
    — Christopher Snowbeck, Star Tribune, 22 May 2021
  • As a last-ditch effort, a small number of patients who haven't improved with the support of ventilators have been treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, a type of life support that can support the function of the heart and lungs.
    — Staff, ExpressNews.com, 21 May 2020
  • The only next step was extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, ECMO, where blood is sent through a machine to be refreshed with oxygen then put back into the body.
    — Anne Saker, Cincinnati.com, 8 May 2020
  • Arizona's largest hospital system warned over the past week that its intensive care units are filling up, ventilator use was on the rise and capacity was reached for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation treatment.
    — Rachel Leingang, USA TODAY, 11 June 2020
  • Called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, the technique siphons blood out of the patient, runs it through an oxygenator and pumps it back into the body.
    — Pam Belluck, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2020
  • Some of them needed heart-lung bypass machines, known as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, to survive.
    — Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press, 3 June 2021
  • There, she was connected to an extracorporeal life support machine (ECMO), as her lungs were unable to produce enough oxygen to keep herself and her baby alive.
    — Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE.com, 5 Nov. 2021
  • But for each adult saved by this machine – dubbed ECMO, for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation – another adult hooked up to the equipment dies in the hospital.
    — Melissa Bailey, USA TODAY, 17 June 2019
  • The machine — called ECMO, for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation — is a last resort.
    — Denise Grady, New York Times, 3 June 2021
  • He was hooked up to a heart-lung machine for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), used during life-threatening heart and lung conditions.
    — Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 18 June 2026
  • Eight of those patients are in the intensive care unit, with four on ventilators and one on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation -- known as ECMO -- machine.
    — Jeannie Roberts, Arkansas Online, 24 Dec. 2021
  • All seven patients who died of Covid and all of the 13 patients who received a last-ditch treatment called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation were unvaccinated, according to the findings.
    — Robert Langreth, Fortune, 13 Jan. 2022
  • On top of all of those practices, John also routinely undergoes extracorporeal blood oxygenation and ozonation treatments, which essentially serves as blood filtration—sort of like dialysis.
    — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2026
  • He was put on a heart-lung machine called ECMO, for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, as surgeons debated doing a rare procedure to remove his clots.
    — David Wahlberg, Star Tribune, 10 July 2021
  • At the hospital, Ellie was put on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, a machine that takes over the work of the heart and lungs to give the body time to recover.
    — Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 16 Jan. 2026
  • Doctors can also use a procedure called extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), a non-invasive technique that uses sound waves to break the stone into bits that can then pass through your system.
    — Macaela MacKenzie, Allure, 22 Feb. 2018
  • Michael was put on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, a form of life support for patients with life-threatening illness or injury that affects the function of their heart or lungs.
    — The Indianapolis Star, 13 Jan. 2023
  • He was also placed on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine, which supports patients with failing hearts and lungs by pumping oxygen throughout the body.
    — Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 7 Oct. 2025
  • While connected to an extracorporeal membrane oxygen machine — which serves as a life-support system that acts as an artificial heart and lung — since Monday, the machine was responsible for 85% of the blood being pumped through his body.
    — Rick Cantu, Austin American Statesman, 5 Mar. 2026
  • There, a ventilator breathed for her; when that wasn’t enough, doctors used an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine to pump her blood outside her body and oxygenate it there before putting it back in.
    — Caroline Catherman, orlandosentinel.com, 19 Nov. 2021
  • The equipment, called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), uses pumps and tubes to remove blood from a patient, injects the blood with oxygen and returns the oxygenated blood to the body.
    — oregonlive, 15 May 2020
  • The medical team repeatedly performed CPR and hooked him up to an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine, which pumped blood out of his body into a heart-lung machine that removes carbon dioxide, and then back into the body.
    — Washington Post, 16 Nov. 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'extracorporeal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: