Biernacki's test

Alternative eponyms

Related people

A test for the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).

Description

A screening test for the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Biernacki first discovered that the rate at which red corpuscles separated could help identify a patient's disease and that the increased sedimentation rate of blood from ill individuals was due to the presence of fibrinogen.

In 1918 the Swedish pathologist and haematologist Robert (Robin) Sanno Fahraeus (1888-1968) furthered Biernacki’s work, initially to use the ESR as a pregnancy test.

Bibliography

  • E. Biernacki:
    Samoistna sedymentacja krwi jako naukowa, praktyczno-kliniczna metoda badania.
    Gazeta Lekarska, 1897, 17: 962, 996.

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