84 ANTIBODIES, IMMUNITY, WASSERMANN SERUM TEST 



The tubes are well shaken and replaced in the incubator for one to 

 one and one-half hours. They are then taken out and the result may 

 be recognized at once, or, better, the tubes are placed overnight in 

 the refrigerator. This will enable all undissolved corpuscles to sink 

 to the bottom of the tubes and a very characteristic unmistakable 

 picture is formed. Hemolyzed tubes show a uniformly transparent 

 red stained fluid. Non-hemolyzed tubes show a sediment of red blood 

 corpuscles at the bottom and a perfectly clear supernatant salt solu- 

 tion on top. The result of the test in case the suspected patient has 

 syphilis will be: 



Tube No. 1 (patient No. 1), no hemolysis. 



Tube No. 2 (patient No. 2), hemolysis. 



Tube No. 3 (positive control No. 1), no hemolysis. 



Tube No. 4 (positive control No. 2), hemolysis. 



Tube No. 5 (negative control No. I), hemolysis. 



Tube No. 6 (negative control No. 2), hemolysis. 



The result is explained as follows: The patient has syphilis, hence 

 in tube No. 1 the antigen (alcoholic extract) and the syphilitic anti- 

 bodies united; they deviated the complement and hemolysis could 

 not take place. The same conditions prevail as to tube No. 3; the 

 blood came from a person known to have syphilis. No. 5 con- 

 tained the blood of a healthy person, hence the antigen (alcoholic 

 extract) could not unite with syphilitic antibodies, since none were 

 present; consequently, hemolysis took place. In tubes Nos. 2, 4, and 

 6 no alcoholic antigen extract was added; hence, even if syphilitic 

 antibodes are present, as in tubes Nos. 2 and 4, they had no 

 antigen to unite with, and hence could not deviate the complement, 

 and hemolysis took place. 



If the patient does not have syphilis, hemolysis will, of course, 

 take place in Tube No. 1; since there are no syphilitic antibodies 

 present they cannot unite with the antigen, and the complement 

 will not be deviated. 



Anaphylaxis and Hypersusceptibility. A very peculiar occurrence, 

 not as yet fully understood, has been observed and studied experi- 

 mentally by Arthus, Theobald Smith, Rosenau and Anderson, and 

 others. If an animal receives a very small hypodermic or intra- 

 peritoneal injection of an alien or heterologous blood serum, that is, 

 a blood serum from an animal of a different species, and after the 

 lapse of about three weeks a larger dose (for instance, several cubic 

 centimeters) of the same blood serum, a very grave condition fre- 

 quently develops. An animal so treated may show difficulty in res- 

 piration, rapid pulse, convulsions, and death. There has evidently 

 been established in the animal in consequence of the first small dose 

 of the alien serum a hypersusceptibility to this serum. However, if 

 animals showing this complex, of symptoms do not die they rapidly 

 get over the attack and are soon well again. Anaphylaxis can be 

 produced both actively by injecting into a guinea-pig an alien serum 



