A switch valve for use in an extracorporeal blood flow circuit comprises a
valve housing having a chamber, four openings communicating with the
chamber, and a valve member located in the valve chamber. A first opening
is to be connected to a patient via an arterial cannula, a second opening
is to be connected to a patient via an venous cannula, a third opening is
to be connected to a first inlet/oulet of a blood treatment device, and a
fourth opening is to be connected to a second inlet/outlet of a blood
treatment device. The valve member is movable within the valve housing to
fluidly connect the first opening to either the third or the fourth
opening and to fluidly connect the second opening to either the third or
the fourth opening. The width of the valve member is smaller than a
peripheral dimension of the openings.