ABSTRACT
Generating oxy radicals with xanthine oxidase, Fenton reagents, electrochemical systems, photochemical sensitizers, etc. can make for good science, but extrapolation of the results to in vivo biological and biomedical situations cannot be done directly. It was the discovery that phagocytosing cells generate superoxide during their respiratory burst that stimulated the great medical interest in these radical systems. Since such cells are commonly involved in many pathologic processes, and since the cells are presumed to be exposed to stimuli which cause superoxide generation, a great deal of attention has been paid in recent years to the role of cells in oxy radical phenomena.
