Current status of bacterial translocation as a cause of surgical sepsis

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Abstract
In recent years it has been increasingly recognized that the gastrointestinal tract has functions other than simply the digestion and excretion of foodstuffs. The gut is also a metabolic and immunological organ that serves as a barrier against living organisms and antigens within its lumen. This role is termed ‘gut barrier function’. The fact that luminal contents in the caecum have a bacterial concentration of the order of 1012 organisms per millilitre of faeces,1 whilst portal blood and mesenteric lymph nodes are usually sterile, dramatically illustrates the efficacy of this barrier function.