Wassermann test

A diagnostic test for syphilis involving the fixation or inactivation of complement by an antibody in a blood serum sample.

[After August von Wassermann (1866-1925), German bacteriologist.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Wassermann test

(ˈwæsəmən; German ˈvasərman) or

Wassermann reaction

(Medicine) med a diagnostic test for syphilis. See complement fixation test

[C20: named after August von Wassermann (1866–1925), German bacteriologist]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Was′sermann test`

a diagnostic test for syphilis using the fixation of a complement by the serum of a syphilitic individual. Also called Was′sermann reac`tion.

[1910–15; after A. von Wassermann]

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Noun

Wassermann test - a blood test to detect syphilis; a complement fixation test is used to detect antibodies to the syphilis organism treponema; a positive reaction indicates the presence of antibodies and therefore syphilis infection

Wasserman reaction, Wassermann

complement fixation test - a blood test in which a sample of serum is exposed to a particular antigen and complement in order to determine whether or not antibodies to that particular antigen are present; used as a diagnostic test

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References in periodicals archive

The first effective test for syphilis, the Wassermann test, was developed in 1906.

Neurological correlates of high-risk behavior: a case study of Alphonse Capone

According to Reverby, inclusion in the Tuskegee Study required that "they tested positive for the disease using the Wassermann test." Syphilologists were cognizant of the pitfalls of their serologic tests.

"Tuskegee Revisited" revisited

The source of the men's syphilis is often a disputed "fact." The high rate of infection in the counties near Tuskegee made the area of interest to the PHS, (5) and the PHS located the men who became the study's unwitting subjects after they tested positive for the disease (using the Wassermann test), gave a clinical history of the infection, and were diagnosed as being in the disease's latency stages.

Cultural memory and the Tuskegee syphilis study: the Tuskegee Syphilis study is surrounded by illuminating misconceptions--myths that cannot be blithely dismissed because they actually provide some insight into the significance of the study