title: Study of the endotoxin sensitivity of pregnant rats and their fetuses.
abstract: The endotoxin sensitivity of pregnant rats and their fetuses was studied and the following conclusions were drawn: 1. In the third trimester the fetus-damaging effect of endotoxin also involves considerable damage to the mother which often ends with the mother's death (in this experiment in 40% of the cases). 2. The endotoxin sensitivity of the fetuses of one mother is relatively the same. 3. Within the race-specific range the endotoxin sensitivity of a given population of pregnant rats largely varies according to the individual sensitivity. 4. There is no "threshold dose" which would kill each fetus and would not kill any of the mothers. Based also on literary data, it is concluded that the effect of endotoxin causing fetal death is mediated by humoral factors released from the mother's organism, and fetal death is primarily due to anoxia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation and Isotope Application, Frederic Joilot-Curie National Research Institute of Radiobiology and Radiohygiene, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Szöcs
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Csordás
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bertók
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D004731:Endotoxins; C044101:endotoxin, Escherichia coli