Since the epoch-making discovery of the Treponema pallidum by Schaudinn interest in the scientific diagnosis of syphilis, as opposed to the clinical diagnosis, has received a remarkable impetus, so that to-day almost all the more important laboratories of the world have some of their workers devoting their attention to this subject.
Probably the first and most successful result of these numerous investigations was the test described by Wassermann and since confirmed by numerous other investigators, using his test or some modification of the same. The results obtained by Wassermann and those using his test have been remarkably good, from 78 to 88 percent. of syphilitic and parasyphilitic cases giving a positive reaction, whereas the non-syphilitic cases are negative in practically all, except some advanced cases of tuberculosis, carcinoma and sepsis.1
While these tests are extremely valuable from