• An explanation of chronic thyroiditis in man was sought in observations made on rabbits,
dogs, guinea pigs, and human subjects. The rabbits received injections of saline extracts of
rabbit thyroid glands. The tests for circulating autoantibodies utilized the phenomena of
precipitation, complement fixation, and tanned-cell hemagglutination. The third of these,
based upon the principle of altering the surface of the red blood cells by dilute tannic acid so
that they absorb proteins, was particularly sensitive. The three tests were applied to serums …