a type of artificial heart (q.v.).[3 related articles]
A combination blood pump and blood oxygenator used for temporary periods of time in cardiopulmonary bypass for cardiac surgery. ... (12 Dec 1998) ... 
a mechanical device that temporarily takes over the functions of the heart and lungs; it is used as an aid in some surgeries, especially cardiovascular surgery. The “heart” of the machine is a pump that draws blood from the patient's vessels before it reaches the heart. The blood is routed through a “lun...
Type: Term Definitions: 1. a device incorporating a blood pump (artificial heart) and a blood oxygenator (artificial lung) to provide extracorporeal circulation and oxygenation of the blood during cardiac surgery.
Heart-lung machine: A machine that does the work both of the heart (pump blood) and the lungs (oxygenate the blood). Used, for example, in open heart surgery. Blood returning to the heart is diverted through the machine before returning it to the arterial circulation. John H. Gibson invented the heart-lung machine which was first successfully used ...
[n] - a pump to maintain circulation during heart surgery
a machine that takes over the functions of the heart and lungs during certain types of surgery 
noun a pump to maintain circulation during heart surgery; diverts blood from the heart and oxygenates it and then pumps it through the body
Apparatus used during heart surgery to take over the functions of the heart and the lungs temporarily. It has a pump to circulate the blood around the body and is able to add oxygen to the blood and remove carbon dioxide from it. A heart–lung machine was first used for open-heart surgery in the USA in 1953
A machine that maintains the circulation of blood, by diverting it, oxygenating it, and then pumping it back into the body, during surgery of the heart.
An apparatus that oxygenates and pumps blood to the body during open heart surgery; see cardiopulmonary bypass.