Object Details
- H. K. Mulford Company
- Description
- Wood chest with latched, hinged lid. Paper label on top of lid. Additional paper label with list of contents of kit adhered to inside of chest lid. Chest contains: one 30 cc. bottle of Physiological Salt Solution, one 30 cc. bottle of Suspension of Sterilized Culture of Typhoid Bacillus, one 10 cc. dropping flask for Typhoid Culture with rubber bulb attached, one 10 cc. dropping flask for Salt Solution with rubber bulb attached, five graduated test tubes (one missing from original count) , one metal test tube holder (which holds six test tubes), three glass droppers (one has rubber bulb attached); one cardboard box with nine small capillary tubes for collecting serum, one needle in glass capillary tube, extra rubber bulbs and rubber stopper. Kit also contains one paper booklet with directions. One newspaper clipping - "Easy Method of Doing Widal's Reaction for Typhoid" / "Early Closure of War Wounds" - ca 1916, found in kit.
- In 1896, French physician and bacteriologist Georges Fernand Isidore Widal introduced a blood test for typhoid that still bears his name. Scientists had observed that cholera bacteria would clump together when injected into animals that had been immunized against the disease. This clumping, called agglutination, resulted from the binding of antibodies in the blood serum to the bacterial antigens. The clumps were easily observed through a microscope. Widal devised a practical diagnostic technique for typhoid based on this phenomenon. He mixed a small sample of the patient’s blood serum with a suspension of typhoid bacilli, then used a microscope to examine a drop of the solution. If the cells clumped together, the patient had typhoid antibodies, which indicated either current infection or prior exposure to the disease.
- In 1905, bacteriologist John Borden modified the Widal test in a way that freed practicing physicians from their reliance on the services of bacteriological laboratories. By 1912, the Mulford company was advertising a complete test outfit based on his modifications. The kit included a needle and glass capillary tubes for collecting blood from the earlobe, a bottle of salt solution for diluting the sample, a bottle of killed typhoid bacilli suspension, dropper bottles, test tubes, and a rack. The test required no microscope, as the bacterial clumping was visible to the naked eye, appearing as a small white mass at the bottom of the test tube.
- Credit Line
- Gift of Eleanor P. Custis
- after 1905
- ID Number
- MG.M-07860
- catalog number
- M-07860
- accession number
- 223292
- Object Name
- biological
- diagnostic, typhoid fever
- Physical Description
- glass (overall material)
- metal (overall material)
- paper (overall material)
- rubber (overall material)
- wood (overall material)
- Measurements
- instruction pamphlet (open): 3 1/2 in x 12 in; 8.89 cm x 30.48 cm
- overall: 4 1/2 in x 7 3/8 in x 4 in; 11.43 cm x 18.7325 cm x 10.16 cm
- box, with lid open at 90 degrees: 6 15/16 in x 7 5/16 in x 5 1/4 in; 17.62125 cm x 18.57375 cm x 13.335 cm
- stock bottle, salt solution: 3 1/4 in x 1 1/4 in x 1 1/4 in; 8.255 cm x 3.175 cm x 3.175 cm
- stock bottle, culture typhoid bacillus: 3 1/4 in x 1 1/4 in x 1 1/4 in; 8.255 cm x 3.175 cm x 3.175 cm
- dropping flask, typhoid culture: 2 3/4 in x 3 1/2 in x 1 1/4 in; 6.985 cm x 8.89 cm x 3.175 cm
- dropping flask, salt solution: 2 7/8 in x 2 3/4 in x 1 1/4 in; 7.3025 cm x 6.985 cm x 3.175 cm
- test tube rack with test tubes: 4 1/4 in x 4 1/4 in x 1 5/8 in; 10.795 cm x 10.795 cm x 4.1275 cm
- capillary bulb tube: 1/4 in x 2 1/8 in x 1/2 in; .635 cm x 5.3975 cm x 1.27 cm
- rubber bulb: 1/2 in x 1 9/16 in x 5/8 in; 1.27 cm x 3.96875 cm x 1.5875 cm
- longest pipette: 5 5/8 in x 5/16 in; 14.2875 cm x .79375 cm
- needle in glass tube: 3 9/16 in x 3/16 in; 9.04875 cm x .47625 cm
- wide mouthed pipette: 3 3/8 in x 3/8 in; 8.5725 cm x .9525 cm
- dropper with bulb: 4 7/8 in x 1/2 in x 3/4 in; 12.3825 cm x 1.27 cm x 1.905 cm
- place made
- United States: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
- See more items in
- Medicine and Science: Medicine
- Health & Medicine
- The Antibody Initiative
- Antibody Initiative: Diagnostics
- Antibody Initiative: Infectious Disease, Allergy, and Immunotherapy Collections
- Exhibition
- First Do No Harm
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- National Museum of American History
- Record ID
- nmah_725411
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b1-ec89-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
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