[Endotoxins and the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal diseases (author's transl)].

Endotoxins are constituents of the capsules of intestinal gram-negative Flora. Under pathological conditions with limited clarification function of the liver RES (alcoholic hepatitis, severe virus hepatitis, cholestasis, cirrhosis of the liver) they do reach the systemic circulation. If the colon is primarily diseased (ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease) or secondarily damaged (edema of the colonic wall in acute pancreatitis) they pass through the wall into the peritoneal cavity and from there into the systemic circulation (endotoxemia). Attention to the endotoxemias can explain a number of systemic complications which often determine the clinical course of the diseases named. A basis is also created for seeking an effective form of therapy.