endotoxin

American  

[en-doh-tok-sin] / ˌɛn doʊˈtɒk sɪn /

noun

Biochemistry.

1. the toxic protoplasm liberated when a microorganism dies and disintegrates, as in Eberthella typhi, the causative agent of typhoid fever.

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endotoxin British  

/ ˌɛndəʊˈtɒksɪn /

noun

1. a toxin contained within the protoplasm of an organism, esp a bacterium, and liberated only at death

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Other Word Forms

• endotoxic
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of endotoxin

First recorded in 1900–05; endo- + toxin

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Compare meaning

How does endotoxin compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• endotoxin vs. exotoxin

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

endotoxin

These substances, particularly endotoxin, can trigger gut inflammation and increase the leakiness of the gut wall, resulting in damage to other organs such as the liver, kidneys and brain.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 15, 2024

After the pharmacist first testified the drugs are tested for endotoxins, the investigation found he later said he didn’t know endotoxin testing was required, Henry wrote.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 25, 2023

“As it is now, the entire supply chain for endotoxin testing of drugs rests upon the harvest of a vulnerable or near extinct sea creature,” Williams said.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 30, 2021

Scientists harnessed nature’s ingenuity, using crab blood to make so-called amebocyte lysate endotoxin tests which, by the 1970s, began displacing tests on rabbits that were injected with medicine then monitored for fever.

From Reuters ● Aug. 1, 2019

There is nothing intrinsically poisonous about endotoxin, but it must look awful, or feel awful, when sensed by cells.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

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