Early concepts on the mechanism of peritonitis with special regard to the experimental work of Karol Klecki.

The term peritonitis is relatively new in medical language, however some of its symptoms were observed and noted even in antiquity. The proper recognition of peritonitis as a distinct pathological entity was made possible when progress in the clinical and experimental sciences give birth to the methodology needed for the investigation of the etiology and mechanism of peritoneal inflammation. Research concerning this clinical topic began to yield significant results in the second half of 19th century. This paper aims to give some insight into this pioneering period of scientific investigation focused on the etiology and pathology of peritonitis. From the work of von Recklinghausen in the 1860s, through the later research of Wegner and Gravitz, the next major step in this field was made by the Polish experimental pathologist and pathophysiologist Karol Klecki.