A specific treponemal serologic test performed by overlaying whole treponemes that are fixed to a slide with serum from patients suspected of having syphilis and using fluorescein-conjugated antihuman antibody reagent to detect specific antitreponemal antibodies is called

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Specific treponemal serologic tests include the FTA-ABS (fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption) test and the TP-PA (T. pallidum particle agglutination) test. The FTA-ABS test is performed by overlaying whole treponemes that are fixed to a slide with serum from patients suspected of having syphilis because of a previous positive VDRL or RPR test. The patient's serum is first absorbed with non-T. pallidum treponemal antigens (sorbent) to reduce nonspecific cross-reactivity. Fluorescein-conjugated antihuman antibody reagent is then applied as a marker for specific antitreponemal antibodies in the patient's serum.

A Specific Treponemal Serologic Test Performed by Overlaying Whole Treponemes