This prospective study examined the presence of foreign bodies in postoperative adhesion specimens and parietal peritoneum removed in a given patient at the same operative site. Fifty-two consecutive patients were enrolled. A significantly larger number of foreign bodies were observed in adhesion specimens than in peritoneum specimens. Inflammatory processes were also found to develop preferentially on the perioneum. In man, foreign bodies participate in the mechanism of development of postoperative intraperitoneal adhesions.