Wassermann test

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Wassermann test
The test was sufficiently familiar to American movie audiences that the 1934 exploitation film The Road to Ruin simply showed a card with a positive Wassermann test (misspelled in the film) without any further explanation to indicate a character had contracted syphilis.
Synonyms	Wassermann reaction
Purpose	antibody test for syphilis

Wassermann test is a type of blood test to detect syphilis.

How it works

It is a complement fixation test used to detect antibodies to the syphilis organism treponema. It was one of the first blood tests for detecting syphilis named after the bacteriologist August Paul von Wassermann, based on complement fixation. It is a type of nontreponemal test (NTT) category largely replaced by newer tests such as RPR and VDRL tests.

Interpretation

A positive Wassermann test reaction indicates the presence of antibodies and therefore syphilis infection.

Normal value

In a person with no syphilis, the test will be negative.

Abnormal values

In a person with syphilis, the test will be positive.

False negatives

Since the test depends on the development of antibodies, which normally take sometime to develop, the test might be falsely negative in the early stages of the syphilis infection. Many autoimmune conditions such as lupus, tuberculosis, malaria can produce a false positive test result.

External links

• Wassermann+reaction at the US National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

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