Procuring Blood for the Wassermann Test

To the Editor:

—Having seen recently several more or less complicated methods suggested for procuring blood from the veins, for the Wassermann or other tests, we thought perhaps the profession at large was not familiar with the utility of a hypodermic syringe for this purpose. For two Years we have used an ordinary clean sterile glass hypodermic syringe with a 24-gauge needle. A tourniquet is placed around the upper arm so as to distend well the veins; the region of the elbow is scrubbed with tincture of green soap; then with 95 per cent. alcohol; the patient is requested to grip his hand which distends further the blood-vessels and renders it easy to insert the needle into the vein. By withdrawing the piston the barrel of the syringe fills with blood. The tourniquet is loosened, the needle removed and the small puncture sealed with a drop of collodion. The blood,