Release of endotoxin in an experimental model simulating the dental root canal.

The action of endotoxin on subcutaneous connective tissue was examined in an experimental model simulating the dental root canal. The local Shwartzman reaction was used as a tool to detect slight tissue alterations that might otherwise go unobserved. The experimental results warrent, in our opinion, the tentative conclusion that the primary toxicity of endotoxins has no major part in the initiation or maintenance of chronic periapical inflammation.