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{{Short description|Antibody test for syphilis}}
{{More medical citations needed|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox diagnostic
| name            = Wassermann test
| image           = File:The Road to Ruin (1934) - Eve's Positive Wassermann Test.jpg
| alt             =
| caption         = The test was sufficiently familiar to American movie audiences that the 1934 [[exploitation film]] ''[[The Road to Ruin (1934 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.
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| purpose         =antibody test for syphilis
| test of         =
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| synonyms        = Wassermann reaction
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The '''Wassermann test''' or '''Wassermann reaction''' ('''WR''')<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1017/S0022172400011943 | last1 = Beck | first1 = A. | title = The role of the spirochaete in the Wassermann reaction | journal = Journal of Hygiene | volume = 39 | issue = 3 | pages = 298–310 | year = 1939| pmc = 2199439 | pmid=20475495}}</ref> is an [[antibody]] test for [[syphilis]], named after the bacteriologist [[August Paul von Wassermann]], based on [[complement fixation]]. It was the first blood test for syphilis and the first in the [[nontreponemal tests for syphilis|nontreponemal test]] (NTT) category. Newer NTTs, such as the [[rapid plasma reagin|RPR]] and [[Venereal Disease Research Laboratory test|VDRL]] tests, have mostly replaced it. During the mid-20th century, in many jurisdictions, including most US states, applicants for a marriage license were [[premarital medical examination|required by law]] to undergo a Wassermann test.

==Method==
A sample of [[blood]] or [[cerebrospinal fluid]] is taken and introduced to the antigen – [[cardiolipin]] extracted from bovine muscle or heart. Syphilis non-specific antibodies ([[reagin]], see [[Rapid plasma reagin|RPR]]) react with the [[lipid]] – the Wassermann reaction of [[antiphospholipid antibody|antiphospholipid antibodies]] (APAs). The intensity of the reaction (classed 1, 2, 3, or 4) indicates the severity of the condition.

==Uncertainty==
[[File:Taking a Wasserman blood test.jpg|thumb|right|Administration of a Wassermann test at a clinic for Florida migratory farm workers in 1941.]]
The reaction is not specific to syphilis and will produce a positive reaction to other diseases, including [[systemic lupus erythematosus]], [[malaria]], and [[tuberculosis]]. It is possible for an infected individual to produce no reaction and for a successfully treated individual to continue to produce a reaction (known as being "Wassermann fast" or "fixed").{{citation needed|date=July 2017}}

The Wassermann test is ineffective at identifying primary syphilis as sufficient reagin has not yet been produced from tissue destruction at this stage. Therefore, more effective methods have been a common research topic.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Stevens|first1=Sara|title=Wassermann Test|url=https://www.stdaware.com/stds/syphilis/treatment/wassermann-test|website=STDAware|access-date=3 July 2017|language=en|archive-date=14 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314030256/https://www.stdaware.com/stds/syphilis/treatment/wassermann-test|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Development and refinement==
The antibody test was developed by Wassermann, Julius Citron, and [[Albert Neisser]] at the [[Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases]] in 1906.<ref>{{WhoNamedIt|doctor|2511}}</ref><ref>A Wassermann, A. Neisser and C. Bruck. Eine serodiagnostische Reaktion bei Syphilis. Deutsche medicinische Wochenschrift, Berlin, 1906, 32: 745–46. Announcing the test for syphilis.</ref> The test was a growth from the work of [[Jules Jean Baptiste Vincent Bordet|Bordet]] and [[Octave Gengou|Gengou]] on complementing-fixation reaction, published in 1901, and the positive reaction is sometimes called the Bordet-Gengou-Wassermann reaction or Bordet-Wassermann reaction.

The Wassermann test has been refined with the [[Kahn test]]<ref name="pmid18012919">{{cite journal |author=Gilbert R |title=Standardization of the Wassermann Test: Abstract of Progress Test |journal=Am J Public Health Nations Health |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=47–48 |date=January 1930 |pmid=18012919 |pmc=1555718 |doi= 10.2105/AJPH.20.1.47}}</ref> and the [[Kolmer test]]{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}, and it is rarely used today. Replacement tests such as the [[VDRL]] test and the RPR test, initially based on [[flocculation]] techniques (Hinton), have been shown to produce far fewer false positive results.{{Citation needed|date=July 2009}}  Indeed, the "biologic false positives" of modern tests usually indicate a serious alternate condition, often an [[autoimmune disease]].

==References==
{{reflist}}
* Citron, Dr. Julius, "Immunity" (English translation) 1914 163–64

==External links==
* {{MeshName|Wassermann+reaction}}

{{Infectious and inflammatory blood tests}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wassermann Test}}
[[Category:Infectious disease blood tests]]
[[Category:Syphilis]]
[[Category:1906 in biology]]
[[Category:1906 introductions]]
[[Category:1906 in Germany]]