我将要讲有关致热原,它的本质及其在临床医学上的重要性。我将强调有避免热原污染及测试热原的巨大经济耗费。将解释测试热原方法的缺点,并讨论可能的替代方法,及改良测定方法的研究。细菌感染引起一系列特异性毒性药理学及免疫学反应,其一就是发热。发热产生的机理开始于血中单核白细胞吞噬了细菌或细菌碎片。于是单核细胞被兴奋,并使得分离出一种多肽——即“内热原”,它在血中循环,对脑干的一些基底核细胞有特异性作用,这些细胞是控制体温调节的。它通过中枢性控制产温与外周散温来调节体温。(附图) I will talk about the pyrogen, its nature and its importance in clinical medicine. I will highlight the enormous economic costs of avoiding pyrogen contamination and testing pyrogens. The shortcomings of the test pyrogen method will be explained, as well as possible alternatives, and studies to improve the assay method. Bacterial infection causes a series of specific toxicological and immunological reactions, one of which is fever. The mechanism of fever begins with mononuclear leukocytes in the blood that engulf bacteria or bacterial debris. Monocytes are excited and allow the isolation of a polypeptide, called “endogenous pyrogen,” that circulates in the blood and has specific effects on some basal cells of the brain stem, which regulate thermoregulation. It regulates body temperature through central control of temperature and peripheral cooling. (With photos)