338 Wassermann Reaction for Diagnosis of Syphilis 



aid of the centrifuge. If the patient's own corpuscles are to 

 be employed, some of them may be distributed, without any 

 washing, through the serum by simply shaking it up a little 

 with the clot. It is not essential exactly to measure the 

 corpuscles, as after a few trials with the suspension of normal 

 corpuscles the eye becomes accustomed to the color, intensity, 

 and density corresponding to the requirement. 



(5) The Antihuman Hemolytic Amboceptor. This is pre- 

 pared by injecting rabbits, according to the method already 

 described, with washed human corpuscles obtained from fresh 

 human placentae or from the heart of a fresh cadaver come to 

 autopsy. The serum of the rabbit, when obtained, is dried 

 upon blotting-paper and titrated as already described. 



The " set-up " for the test, as given by Noguchi, is less 

 cumbersome than that recommended for the Wassermann 

 test and includes six tubes. It can best be understood by 

 reference to the diagram on page 337. 



The method recommends itself through its simplicity and 

 convenience, no sheep corpuscles being used, and through 

 the smaller quantity of blood required, it seeming to the 

 patient that less damage is done by pricking the finger than 

 by introducing a syringe needle into a vein. It is, moreover, 

 a very sensitive test, and gives very accurate results as far 

 as regards positive cases. Unfortunately, it seems to have 

 the demerit of occasionally finding the reaction in negative 

 cases, which is a serious defect. 



Diagnosticians are still divided in opinion, some preferring 

 the Wassermann test, some the Noguchi test, and some always 

 doing both, permitting the one to control the other. In the 

 long run the Wassermann test seems to meet with most favor, 

 and in the hands of the majority leads to most satisfactory 

 results. 



