82 



Scientific Proceedings (80). 



periments was there any appreciable decrease below the normal 

 minimum There was no alteration in the morphology or staining 

 qualities of the red cells. Furthermore, it was found that but 

 slight reactions occurred in the white cells of the blood. Im- 

 mediately following the inoculation there was a temporary rise in 

 the number of white cells amounting in its greatest extent to 2,000 

 cells above the normal maximum (10,000). This increase re- 

 mained only for twenty-four hours and then the count declined 

 to normal. The increase was not confined to any particular type 

 of cell, though the response in the polymorphonuclear neutrophiles 

 was more common. The experiments indicate that for the amount 

 of the cholesterin mixture used intravenously, there is no particular 

 reaction in the blood cells of this animal. There was no evidence 

 that the cholesterin macrophages appearing in organ lesions during 

 hypercholesterinemia, migrate by the blood stream. 



52 (1230) 



The physical state of antigen as related to the specificity of the 

 Wassermann reaction. 



(Preliminary Communication.) 



By J. Bronfenbrenner and M. J. Schlesinger. 



\From the Research Laboratories of the Western Pennsylvania Hos- 

 pital, Pittsburgh, Penna.] 



The shortcomings in the diagnostic value of the Wassermann 

 reaction have been demonstrated by many authors. Of late, 

 however, in addition to errors inherent to this reaction on account 

 of its very nature, different investigators called attention to dis- 

 crepancies arising from the use of various modifications. There 

 is a definite tendency among the serologists to standardize the 

 Wassermann test as a whole and thus make the results obtained 

 by different workers comparable. In view of facilitating this 

 standardization, we wish to call attention to certain qualities of 

 antigen which have not been described thus far. 



So far as the chemical composition of antigen is concerned, the 



