Articles on Medical Diseases and Conditions

Treponema pallidum immobilization (TPI) test. Syphilitic spirochetes can grow in rabbits. Nelson devised a Treponema pallidum immobilization (TPI) test in which syphilitic spirochetes are incubated with the patient’s serum. If specific antisyphilitic antibody is present, it will attack the spirochetes and immobilize them, causing them to stop moving when viewed under the microscope. This involves […]

The first practical serologic test for syphilis (STS) was the complement fixation (CF) technique invented by Wassermann. He used extract from a syphilitic liver as the antigen that demonstrated the presence of antitreponemal antibodies. Subsequently it was found that the main ingredient of the substance he used actually had nothing to do with syphilitic infection […]

Contamination of urine specimens by vaginal or labial bacteria is a serious problem. The most reliable way to obtain the specimen, especially in young children, is by suprapubic puncture and aspiration of the bladder with a needle and syringe. However, this technique has never become popular. Catheterization is another way to solve the difficulty, but […]