Laboratory studies suggest that the postischaemic gut serves as a priming bed for circulating neutrophils that provoke multiple organ failure. Platelet-activating factor, generated by phospholipase A2, appears to be active in priming neutrophils in the gut. Interleukin-6 also appears to be elaborated by the postischaemic gut, but may be even more important in distant organs via promoting neutrophil-mediated organ dysfunction.