Korean J Pediatr.
2007 Feb;50(2):121-126. 10.3345/kjp.2007.50.2.121.
Fever
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Severance Children's Hospital, Seoul, Korea. dskim6634@yumc.yonsei.ac.kr
- KMID: 2278713
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.3345/kjp.2007.50.2.121
Abstract
- Fever has been recognized as a cardinal feature of disease since antiquity, but only recently has the pathophysiology of fever come to be understood. It became clear that the ultimate cause of fever is not a bacterial product (a so-called exogenous pyrogen) but a product of host inflammatory cells (i.e., an endogenous pyrogen). Many studies have demonstrated that mononuclear phagocytes are the principal source of endogenous pyrogen and that a variety of mononuclear cell products can mediate the febrile response. Cytokines are also important as mediators of the acute-phase response to infection and inflammation.
