silkworm: larva of a saturniid moth; spins a large amount of strong silk in constructing its cocoon
caterpillar: a wormlike and often brightly colored and hairy or spiny larva of a butterfly or moth
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