A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SERUM DIAGNOSIS IN SYPHILIS

Although only three years have elapsed since the Wassermann-Neisser-Bruck reaction for the diagnosis of syphilis was described, it has become in this time a well-established diagnostic method and it, or its modifications, are now in use in all large medical centers. During this period, which must be considered as a stage of experimentation and testing, a number of modifications of the original method, and also several practically new methods for serum diagnosis have been devised. Several of these have been subjected to critical examination by various investigators, and although from the mass of evidence the original method, with a slight modification, appears to be the most satisfactory, it has seemed to me advisable to carry out a comparative, critical study of the more important modifications. The methods selected for study are the following :

• Wassermann's original method.

• Noguchi's precipitation method for spinal fluids, with a discussion of the precipitation reactions of Forges, Fornet, Klausner and Noguchi for blood serum.

• Bauer's simplification of the Wassermann reaction, with a discussion of Tschernogubow's modification.

• Noguchi's complement deviation method.