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endotoxin
(en´do-tok″sin)
a heat-stable toxin associated with the outer membranes of certain gram-negative bacteria, such as species of Brucella, Neisseria, and Vibrio. Endotoxins are not secreted but are released only when the cells are disrupted; they are less potent and less specific than
the exotoxins; and they do not form toxoids. In large quantities they produce hemorrhagic shock and severe diarrhea; smaller amounts cause fever, altered resistance
to bacterial infection, leukopenia followed by leukocytosis, and numerous other biologic effects.
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