Ernst Fuchs. Vorstand der II. Universitäts-Augenklinik in Wien 1885 bis 1915. Wien als weltweites Zentrum der Ophthalmopathologie

During the three decades, in which Ernst Fuchs was the chairman of the Second Vienna University Eye Clinic, he led the Vienna School of Ophthalmology to worldwide reputation based on the findings of his investigations in ocular histopathology and on his widespread international teaching.     

Phi is not beta, and why Wertheimer's discovery launched the Gestalt revolution

Max Wertheimer (1880-1943), the founder of the Gestalt School of Psychology, published a monograph on the perception of apparent motion in 1912, which initiated a new direction for a great deal of subsequent perceptual theory and research. Wertheimer's research was inspired by a serendipitous observation of a pure apparent movement, which he called the phi-phenomenon to distinguish it from optimal apparent movement (beta), which resembles real movement. Wertheimer called his novel observation 'pure' because it was perceived in the absence of any object being seen to change its position in space. The phi-phenomenon, as well as the best conditions for seeing it, were not described clearly in this monograph, leading to considerable subsequent confusion about its appearance and occurrence. We review the history leading to the discovery of the phi-phenomenon, and then describe: (i) a likely source for the confusion evident in most contemporary research on the phi-phenomenon; (ii) the best conditions for seeing the phi-phenomenon; (iii) new conditions that provide a particularly vivid phi-phenomenon; and (iv) two lines of thought that may provide explanations of the phi-phenomenon and also distinguish phi from beta.     

OPTOMETRIC TECHNICIANS IN THE UNITED STATES AN INTERVIEW WITH STEVEN BATES

Steven Bates, O. D., is director of the Optometric Technicians Program taught in conjunction with the School of Optometry at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Optometric technicians are a new, somewhat radical development in the United States, reflecting some of the modern trends in optometry and in the health professions generally. Some Australian optometrists will know Dr. Bates through his book “Fundamentals for the Optometric Assistant”. I began our conversation by asking Dr. Bates about the relationship of this book with the optometric technician.     

The Harvard angiogenesis story

I shall discuss the work of researchers at Harvard Medical School who came together in the early 1990s. Scattered across various Harvard-affiliated hospitals and research centers, these individuals were unified by their interest in ocular neovascularization. Together and separately, they investigated models of ocular neovascularization, exploring tumor angiogenesis in eye development and disease.     

Paul of Aegina (c. 625–690 AD), the Origins of the Early Correction of Pediatric Strabismus in Byzantine Empire

The eminent Greek physician Paul of Aegina, native of the Saronic island Aegina and pupil of the Alexandrian School, understood both exotropia and endotropia, his designation for esotropia and proposed therapeutic measures for their treatment during baby or toddler age. He had introduced an innovative method for the newborns to have a straight vision, “the congenital strabismus of the newborns must be treated with the placement of a facial mask (with 2 open holes in the middle axes of the eyes), so that the babies could only see in a straight line”, combined with a small oil lamp to assure a direct eye alignment. Although not even a diagram of the masks was saved until nowadays, Paul was the first to suggest the early correction of the eyes deviation, and considered to be the father of orthoptics.     

Competency-based optics instruction.

BACKGROUND: The Competency-Based Instruction (CBI) system has been used to teach physics for more than 20 years in the Michigan State University Physics Department. In this approach, traditional lectures have been replaced by a learning environment that contains a variety of instructional aids, including written materials, computer-assisted instruction, and interactions with a consultant. The CBI system allows students to adjust their pace through the course, moving nearly as quickly as they are able, with constant feedback to the student on his or her progress. METHODS: I have used an adapted version of the CBI system for use in the Physical Optics and Photometry course of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, School of Optometry for four years. This article will describe the mechanics of the system and discuss experiences with it.     

John G. Lindberg and the discovery of exfoliation syndrome

John G. Lindberg, a young Finnish ophthalmology resident, started a research project in 1914 aiming at an academic dissertation. His plan was to elucidate Axenfeld's observations on iris changes in senile eyes. Axenfeld had described two types of degeneration of the iris: a hyaline degeneration of the iris pupillary zone causing poor pupillary dilatation with mydriatics and an atrophy of the iris pigment epithelium at the pupillary border. For his research Lindberg had to construct a slit-lamp biomicroscope by studying Gullstrand's monograph on the matter; slit-lamp biomicroscopes were not commercially available at that time. A Sach's lamp was used for transillumination of the iris. While conducting his research Lindberg paid attention to greyish flakes and fringes at the pupillary border. He also noted how this strange material formed a membrane on the anterior lens surface. Documentation was made by skillful hand drawings. The new phenomenon was found to be as common in cataract patients as in non-cataractous controls older than 55 years. The phenomenon was observed in 50% of glaucoma patients. Age was the decisive factor; the phenomenon was more prevalent with advancing age. Lindberg published his results as a thesis at the University of Helsinki in 1917. When attending a Nordic Congress of Ophthalmology in 1921, Lindberg met Norwegian ophthalmologist, Birger Malling, and gave him his thesis and explained the new findings. In 1920-21 Lindberg worked at Axenfeld's clinic in Freiburg, Germany. During this period he met in Basel, Switzerland, a Swiss ophthalmologist, Alfred Vogt. He told Vogt about his research and provided him with copies of his thesis. Both Malling and Vogt published papers on exfoliation in 1923 without referring to Lindberg's work. Lindberg did not, however, interfere with these papers. Thus Lindberg was forgotten by his contemporaries as a scientist. However, his main conclusions on exfoliation are still valid today. The life of this remarkable ophthalmologist is described in the present paper.     

The fundamentals of color perception. Charles F. Prentice Award Lecture--1977.

The author raises the question, "Suppose a newly qualified optometrist announced that he wanted to undertake research on the perception of color; what fundamental elements of the subject should he attempt to master before setting out on his research program?" In answering this question, the author traces his own development in the subject of color vision.     

The history of neuro-ophthalmology in Edinburgh. Part I

The Edinburgh Medical School occupies a unique position in the history of medicine. It gave the three famous clinicians and scientists who significantly developed the fundamentals of neuro-ophthalmology: Sir Charles Bell, Douglas Argyll Robertson and Harry Moss Traquair. Sir Charles Bell (1774-1842) was a Scottish anatomist, physiologist, neurologist and surgeon who enjoyed a distinguished career in London and Edinburgh during the first half of the nineteenth century. He was a prolific medical writer, a brilliant researcher and a skilled artist. Argyll Robertson (AR) (1837-1909) was the first surgeon in Scotland to practise entirely in the field of ophthalmology. In 1869 Robertson published the records of cases, which showed that disease of the spinal cord is sometimes associated with loss of the light reflex of the pupil but retention of its movement in accommodation. Harry Moss Traquair (1875-1954) was one of the founders of neuro-ophthalmology, being concentrated on bitemporal hemianopia, the course of the geniculo-calcarine visual pathway, pituitary tumours, optic nerve diseases (including acute retrobulbar neuritis), tobacco amblyopia and traumatic lesions of the optic tract. In his many publications, his most outstanding contribution to medical knowledge was the work which culminated in the publication, in 1927, of "An Introduction to Clinical Perimetry".     

A computer-based register for inherited retinal dystrophies in Southern Africa

A genetic register for inherited retinal degenerative disorders (RDDs) has been established at the Division of Human Genetics, UCT Medical School, Cape Town, South Africa. The primary role of the register is to monitor the progress of molecular research and to facilitate the efficient delivery of services, including genetic counselling, to respective family members and new patients. The database currently holds information on 1829 subjects. The RDD-specific breakdown of the data are presented.     

Bernhard von Gudden, neuro-ophthalmology and the Munich School of Neuroanatomy and Psychiatry

Bernhard von Gudden, psychiatrist to the Royal House of Bavaria (1824-1886), had studied ocular torsion by means of self-observation in the mirror and with the help of after-images for his dissertation of 1848, but later turned to experimental neuroanatomy. Several findings are connected with his name, among them the transverse peduncular tract, part of the accessory optic system. August Forel, Emil Kraepelin and Franz Nissl belonged to his Munich school that took neuroanatomical research as a guiding principle for scientific psychiatry.     

Toichiro Kuwabara on Dave Cogan

In this interview, Dr. Kuwabara recounts his first meeting with Dr. Cogan and describes his work at the Howe Laboratory, their pioneering research on diabetic retinopathy, histochemical and electronmicroscopical studies. This warm recollection exemplifies the mutual respect and deep friendship between Drs. Kuwabara and Cogan.     

A computer-based register for inherited retinal dystrophies in Southern Africa

A genetic register for inherited retinal degenerative disorders (RDDs) has been established at the Division of Human Genetics, UCT Medical School, Cape Town, South Africa. The primary role of the register is to monitor the progress of molecular research and to facilitate the efficient delivery of services, including genetic counselling, to respective family members and new patients. The database currently holds information on 1829 subjects. The RDD-specific breakdown of the data are presented.     

Father Waclaw Szuniewicz,M.D., an ophthalmologist of unusual courage and devotion

The authors present a short biography of the missionary-priest ophthalmologist Waclaw Szuniewicz (1892–1963). This remarkable man completed his ophthalmologic training between 1922 and 1927 at the Department of Ophthalmology of the Stefan Batory University in Wilno, Poland. From 1931 to 1949 he served as a missionary priest in China, and for part of this time he was the head of the Department of Ophthalmology at a hospital in the Chinese town of Shuntehfu. He organized and ran a 100 bed ophthalmology department there, also supervising 18 outpatient clinics in the surrounding area. During this period he regularly saw over 145,000 patients and performed over 5000 ophthalmic operations a year! From 1949 to 1952 Dr Szuniewicz carried out research work on the surgical treatment of corneal astigmatism. His interesting refractive procedures were done at Yale University in the USA and the techniques he developed arose from the work he had initially done in China from 1946 to 1948. Dr Suniewicz moved from the USA to Brazil in 1952 where he continued his refractive surgery research until 1954 and his missionary service until his death in 1963.     

The genetic loci of open-angle glaucoma

As Posner stated in 1949, the bottom line "to the patient and to his family is..., whether his disease will follow a mild course or will lead to blindness". The final goal of genetic research is the identification of the causal genes in the patient, to aid the ophthalmologist in predicting the outcome, in determining diligent treatment is required, and ultimately, in providing the tools for preventing blindness.     

Gerald Westheimer: a paradigm for excellence in vision science research. Interview by Kenneth A. Polse.

Professor Gerald Westheimer has made enormous contributions to the field of vision science while introducing some of the most innovative and respected vision research of the twentieth century. Dr. Westheimer's achievements have been enhanced by an equally stellar reputation as a teacher and mentor. This biography and interview span 83 years of Dr. Westheimer's professional and personal life, from his childhood in Germany to his accomplishments at the University of California.     

Alfred Th. Leber (1881-1954): a pioneer in tropical ophthalmology. Missing in the South Seas--rediscovered in India]

In spite of the brief duration of German colonial rule during that period tropical medicine enjoyed a remarkable growth and development. This is the first account of the career of the pioneer of tropical ophthalmology, Alfred Theodor Leber (1881-1954); medical history had previously reported him missing in Java after the 1st world war. His career was greatly influenced by his uncle, Theodor Leber (1840-1917), the founder of experimental ophthalmology. Alfred Leber was the one who combined teaching and research in the subjects of ophthalmology and tropical medicine. During his first expedition as a private lecturer together with von Prowazek in Samoa (1910-1911), he discovered the involvement of the eye in filarial infections with Wuchereria bancrofti (Lebers fundus). In consideration of his extraordinary work he was appointed professor at the young age of 33. After his training at the eye clinic at Berlin University under von Michel he worked as senior physician with von Hippel in G?ttingen. Both Ludwig Külz and the famous painter Emil Nolde joined him on his second expedition, to New Guinea, in 1913. During his expedition in summer 1914 World War I broke out. Leber could not return to Germany. He stayed in the neutral Dutch East Indies during these years. Favoured by the ravages of war, British and Australian authorities (Military Intelligence, War Office, Defence) succeeded in seizing some of Leber's research reports and kept them under lock and key. The "Leber-Külz medical demographic New Guinea expedition on behalf of the Reich's Colonial Office" was therefore known to the public only as "Emil Nolde's travels in the South Seas".(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

LOOKING,LEARNING AND COMMUNICATING*

The Dresler Memorial Lecture at the IES National Convention in Melbourne was delivered last year by Mr. J. C. Lowson, a former colleague of the late Dr. Dresler in the old Commonwealth Department of Labour and National Service's engineering branch. This close personal association, which began when Dr. Dresler first arrived in Australia in 1949, lasted right up to the time of his untimely death in 1963. Mr. Lowson's illustrated lecture dealt with various general aspects of research and education, and in his opening remarks he pointed out that this was an appropriate theme for the Memorial Lecture; because it was in these particular fields that the late Albert Dresler earned his national and international reputation. Mr. Lowson went on to say that, whilst he did not propose to discuss this work directly, he was hopeful that his remarks would give some insight into the reasons why Albert Dresler was himself so skilled in the art of “looking, learning and communicating” and earned such universal respect and admiration in his lifetime. The following is a summary of points made in the course of this address.     

A Clinician's View of Refractive Errors

ABSTRACT This paper reviews research which has a bearing upon an understanding of the ametropias. The role of the retinal image as a modifying influence in a feedback mechanism exerting some control over emmetropisation is discussed. The concept of a genetic predisposition to environmental factors is developed and a plea is made for more research to aid the clinician in his management of refractive errors.