1. German bacteriologist who developed a diagnostic test for syphilis (1866-1925) • Syn: August von Wassermann • Instance Hypernyms: bacteriologist 2. 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 • Syn: Wassermann test, Wasserman reaction • Hypernyms: complement fixation test