endotoxin
- n a toxin that is confined inside the microorganisms and is released only when the microorganisms are broken down or die
- The pair made their initial observations on laboratory animals, injecting some with an endotoxin, a bacterial substance that produces fever, and others with an endotoxin-caffeine .
- Once there, one part of the bacterial cell wall called endotoxin can trigger a cascade of lethal effects, culminating in multiple organ failure and death, sometimes within hours.