wassermann test: a blood test to detect syphilis; a complement fixation test is used to detect antibodies to the syphilis organism treponema; a positive reaction indicates the presence of antibodies and therefore syphilis infection
complement fixation test: a blood test in which a sample of serum is exposed to a particular antigen and complement in order to determine whether or not antibodies to that particular antigen are present; used as a diagnostic test
squalus: spiny dogfishes