A technical exposition of the field of complement fixation as applied to tuberculosis, with an exhaustive bibliography of manifest value to laboratory workers and clinicians alike.
As a means of diagnosis, Besredka points out how strikingly complement fixation tests may supplement the physical examination, especially when regions ordinarily inaccessible are involved. He disclaims, however, the possibility of thus interpreting the character of the tuberculous process, or of compromising the prognosis by fruitless speculation as to whether the lesion is in an evolutive or a retrogressive stage. One must expect about the same measure of assistance as that given, for example, by the Widal reaction.
Where there is disagreement between the laboratory and clinical findings, there are but two possible hypotheses: either the reaction of fixation lacks specificity or the technic employed lacks precision.