Abstract
The object of this communication is to direct attention to the observation that in complement-fixation tests when normal rabbit serum is used, according to the usual technic, in an active condition or after heating at 55 C. for half an hour for the purpose of inactivation, nonspecific complement absorption or fixation may occur, not only in the presence of lipoidal antigens, but with various bacterial antigens as well. This is a matter of considerable importance in view of the fact that rabbits are commonly employed for experimental studies in syphilis, and likewise for the preparation of immune amboceptors for the study and differentiation of bacterial species and proteins in general. This possibility of non-specific complement fixation is to be remembered and reckoned with in complement-fixation work with rabbit serum, especially in experimental syphilis, as otherwise erroneous conclusions may be drawn, if based alone upon complementfixation tests.
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