WASSERMANN REACTION IN LUETIC INFECTIONS 



First period 



Second period 



As has been repeatedly remarked, specificity is the important element in 

 every biological reaction. The reaction, known after the discoverer as the 

 Wassermann Reaction, can also be performed if, instead of the extract from 

 luetic organs, an alcoholic extract of certain normal organs or certain lipoid 

 substances is substituted as antigen. Seligmann was likewise able to obtain 

 complement fixation by pure chemical reactions. Consequently, numer- 

 ous authorities expressed the opinion that the Wassermann Test was non- 

 specific and that it does not at all represent an antigen antibody interaction. 



