The principles and technique of the Wassermann Reaction and its modifications / Howard Fox.

  • Fox, Howard, 1873-1947.
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The principles and technique of the Wassermann Reaction and its modifications / Howard Fox. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    By HOWARD FOX, M.D., NEW YORK. The subject of the serum diagnosis of syphilis may appear at first glance to be somewhat complicated, owing to the multiplicity of the terms that are used. The principles of the reaction can, however, be eas- ily mastered, whereas the practical knowledge, owing to the many sources of error, can only be acquired after a considerable amount of experience. In order to understand the Wassermann-Neisser- Bruck reaction, as the serum test for syphilis should properly be termed, it is necessary to understand the principles of hemolysis and of the Bordet- Gengou phenomenon. By hemolysis is meant the power possessed by the serum of one species of ani- mal to dissolve the corpuscles of another species. If, for instance, fresh serum from a rabbit is placed in a test tube, and sheep’s corpuscles are added, the serum will be seen to dissolve to a slight extent the corpuscles of the sheep. If the same rab- bit is now treated by several injections of sheep’s corpuscles, and it's serum withdrawn and placed in a test tube, it will be found that this power to dis- solve the sheep’s corpuscles has been greatly in- *Read in part before the Medical Association of the Greater City of New York, January 18, 1909. Copyright, William Wood & Company.