One
Hundred
Important Ophthalmology Books
of the 20th Century
by
H. Stanley Thompson M.D. & Donald L. Blanchard M.D.
Table of Contents
One hundred 20th century ophthalmic books arranged
chronologically within each subspecialty area. The subspecialty areas themselves
are arranged roughly in anatomical order from the front of the eye to the
back of the eye.
Click on any of these titles to go to the appropriate
part of the main text below.
Scroll down to reach the alphabetic checklist, and scroll
further down to reach the main text.
Norris and Oliver, System of Diseases of Eye, 1897-1900
Wood, Casey, The American Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology, 1913–1921
Berens, Conrad, The Eye and its Diseases, 1936-1949
Duke-Elder, Sir Stewart, Textbook and System of Ophthalmology, 1941-‘72
Adler, Francis Heed, Physiology of the Eye: Clinical Applications, 1933-1992
May, Charles Henry, Manual of Disease of Eye, 1900-‘73
Vaughan & Asbury, General Ophthalmology, 1958-1999
AAO, Basic and Clinical Science Course, 1940-2000
Grant, Morton, Toxicology of the Eye, 1962
Duane, Thomas, Clinical Ophthalmology, 1976
Fraunfelder and Roy, Current Ocular Therapy, 1980
Spalton, Hitchings, Hunter, Atlas of Ophthalmology, 1984
Albert & Jacobiec, Principles & Practice of Ophthalmology, 1994
Smith, Henry, The Treatment of Cataract, 1910
Arruga, H. Cirugia ocular, 1946
Kirby, Daniel B., Surgery of Cataract, 1950
Kelman, Charles, Phacoemulsification and Aspiration: the Kelman Technique,, 1975
Jaffe, Norman, Cataract Surgery and its Complications, 1972-97
Eisner, Georg, Augenchirurgie: Einführung in die operative Technik, 1973
Axenfeld, Theo, The Bacteriology of the Eye, 1908
Vogt, Alfred, Slit Lamp Microscopy of the Living Eye, 1921
Berliner, M. L., Biomicroscopy of the Eye, 1943-49
Castroviejo, Ramon, Keratectomy and Keratoplasty, 1964
Donaldson, David, Atlas External Diseases of Eye, 1966
Fedukowicz, Helena B., External Infections of Eye, 1963
Grayson, Merrill, Diseases of the Cornea, 1979
Krachmer, Mannis & Holland, Cornea, 1997
Elliot, Robert, Treatise on Glaucoma, 1922
Uribe-Troncoso, M., A Treatise on Gonioscopy, 1947
Sugar, H. Saul, The Glaucomas, 1951
Becker & Shaffer, Diagnosis and Therapy of Glaucomas, 1961
Ascher, Karl, The Aqueous Veins, 1961
Chandler & Grant, Lectures on Glaucoma, 1965
Shields, M. Bruce, Textbook of Glaucoma, 1982
Anderson, Douglas, Testing the Field of Vision, 1982
Alward, Wallace L., Color Atlas of Gonioscopy, 1994
Wilbrand & Saenger, Die Neurologie des Auges: ein Handbuch.1900-1922
Inouye, Tatsuji, Sehstörungen bei Schussverletzungen, 1909
Posey & Spiller, The Eye and Nervous System, 1906
Traquair, Harry, An Introduction to Clinical Perimetry, 1927
Cogan, David G, The Neurology of Ocular Muscles, 1945
Walsh, Frank, Clinical Neuro-ophthalmology, 1947
Bender, Morris, The Oculomotor System, 1964
Hoyt & Beeston, Ocular Fundus in Neurolologic Disease, 1966
Smith & Glaser University of Miami Neuro-ophthalmology Symposia, 1965-1980
Leigh & Zee, The Neurology of Eye Movement, 1983
Loewenfeld, Irene E., The Pupil, 1993
Jackson, Edward, Skiascopy and its Practical Applications, 1895
Gullstrand, Allvar, Monochromatische Aberrationen, 1900
Obrig, Theo, Contact Lenses, 1942
Mandell, Robert, Contact Lens Practice, 1965
Milder & Rubin, The Fine Art Prescribing Glasses Without Making a Spectacle of Yourself 1979
Maddox, Ernest, Tests & Studies of Ocular Muscles, 1898-1935
Worth, Claud, Squint, 1903-1936
Howe, Lucien, The Muscles of the Eye, 1907-1908
Peter, Luther C., The Extra-Ocular Muscles, 1927
Bielschowsky, Alfred, Lectures on Motor Anomalies, 1940
Scobee, Richard, The Oculorotary Muscles, 1947
Burian & von Noorden, Binocular Vision and Ocular Motility, 1974
Ishihara, Shinobu, Ishihara Charts for Color Blindness, 1917
Waardenburg, PJ, Das menschlichen Auge und seine Erbanlagen, 1932
François, Jules, L’Hérédité en Ophtalmologie, 1958
Franceschetti, François & Babel, Les Hérédo-dégéneresences Chorio-rétiniennes, 1963
Krill, Alex, Hereditary Retinal and Choroidal Diseases, 1972
Ramon y Cajal, Santiago, Die Retina der Wirbelthiere, 1894-1933
Woods, Alan C., Endogenous Uveitis, 1956
Gonin, Jules, Le Décollement de la Rétine, 1934
Meyer-Schwickerath, Gerd, Lichtkoagulation, 1959
Schepens, Charles, Retinal Detachment & Allied Dis., 1983
Cibis, Paul, Vitreoretinal Pathology and Surgery in Retinal Detachment, 1965
Gass,
J.D., Stereoscopic Atlas of Macular
Disease, 1970
Shields,
Jerry, Intraocular Tumors, 1983
Ryan, Stephen J., Retina, 1989
Czermak, Wilhelm, Augenärztlichen Operation, 1907-1908
Meller, Josef, Ophthalmic Surgery, 1908
Whitnall, S. Ernest, Anatomy of the Human Orbit, 1921
Sheehan, J. Eastman, Plastic Surgery of the Orbit, 1927
Wheeler, John Martin, The Collected Papers of JMW., 1939
Spaeth, Edmund, New Meth of Ophthal Plastic Surg., 1925
Hughes, W. L., Reconstructive Surgery of the Eyelids, 1943
Stallard, H. B., Eye Surgery, 1946
Fox, Sidney A., Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery, 1952
Mustardé, J. C., Repair and Reconstr. of Orbital Region, 1966
Jones & Wobig, Surgery of Eyelids & Lacrim. Syst., 1976
Henderson, John W., Orbital Tumors, 1973
Dutton, Jonathan, Atlas Clin. & Surg. Orbit Anat., 1994
Fuchs, Ernst, Lehrbuch der Augenheilkunde, 1889–1945
Parsons, J. Herbert, The Pathology of the Eye, 1904-1908
Salzmann, Maximilian, Anat. & Histo. des Auges, 1912
Fuchs, Adalbert, Atlas of the Histopathology of Eye, 1924
Mann, Ida Caroline, Development of the Human Eye, 1928
Collins & Mayou, Pathol. & Bacteriology of the Eye, 1918
Wessely, Karl, Auge, (Henke–Lubarsch), 1928-1937
Wolff, Eugene, The Anatomy of the Eye and Orbit, 1933
Reese, Algernon, Tumors of the Eye, 1951
Friedenwald, Jonas et al., Ophthalmic Pathology, 1952
Hogan and Zimmerman, Pathology of the Eye, 1962
Hogan, Alvarado & Weddell, Histology of the Eye, 1971
Spencer, William, Ophthalmic Pathology, 1985
Check List
One hundred 20th Century ophthalmic books, arranged
alphabetically by first author.
Click on any of these titles
to go to the appropriate part of the main text below.
Scroll down to reach the alphabetic checklist, and scroll
further down to reach the main text.
AAO, Basic and Clinical Science Course, 1940-2000
Adler, Francis Heed, Physiology of the Eye: Clinical Applications, 1933-1992
Albert & Jacobiec, Principles & Practice of Ophthalmology, 1994
Alward, Wallace L., Color Atlas of Gonioscopy, 1994
Anderson, Douglas, Testing the Field of Vision, 1982
Arruga, H Cirugia ocular, 1946
Ascher, Karl, The Aqueous Veins, 1961
Axenfeld, Theo, The Bacteriology of the Eye, 1908
Becker & Shaffer, Diagnosis and Therapy of the Glaucomas, 1961
Bender, Morris, The Oculomotor System, 1964
Berens, Conrad, The Eye and its Diseases, 1936-1949
Berliner, M. L., Biomicroscopy of the Eye, 1943-49
Bielschowsky, Alfred, Lectures on Motor Anomalies, 1940
Burian & von Noorden, Binocular Vision and Ocular Motility, 1974
Castroviejo, Ramon, Keratectomy & Keratoplasty, 1964
Chandler & Grant, Lectures on Glaucoma, 1965
Cibis, Paul, Vitreoretinal Pathology and Surgery in Retinal Detachment, 1965
Cogan, David G, The Neurology of Ocular Muscles, 1945
Collins & Mayou, Patholology and Bacteriology of the Eye, 1918
Czermak, Wilhelm, Augenärztlichen Operation, 1907-1908
Donaldson, David, Atlas of External Diseases of the Eye, 1966
Duane, Thomas Clinical Ophthalmology, 1976
Duke-Elder, Sir Stewart, Textbook and System of Ophthalmology, 1941-‘72
Dutton, Jonathan, Atlas of Clinical and Surgical Orbital Anatomy., 1994
Eisner, Georg, Augenchirurgie : Einführung in die operative Technik, 1973
Elliot, Robert, Treatise on Glaucoma, 1922
Fedukowicz, Helena B., External Infections of Eye, 1963
Fox, Sidney A., Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery, 1952
Franceschetti, François & Babel, Hérédo-dégéneresences Chorio-rétiniennes, 1963
François, Jules, L’Hérédité en Ophtalmologie, 1958
Fraunfelder & Roy, Current Ocular Therapy, 1980
Friedenwald, Jonas et al., Ophthalmic Pathology, 1952
Fuchs, Adalbert, Atlas of the Histopathology of Eye, 1924
Fuchs, Ernst, Lehrbuch der Augenheilkunde, 1889–1945
Gass, J.D., Stereoscopic Atlas of Macular Disease, 1970
Gonin, Jules, Le Décollement de la Rétine, 1934
Grant, Morton, Toxicology of the Eye, 1962
Grayson, Merrill, Diseases of the Cornea, 1979
Gullstrand, Allvar, Allgemeine Theorie der Monochromatische Aberrationen, 1900
Henderson, John W., Orbital Tumors, 1973
Hogan and Zimmerman, The Pathology of the Eye, 1962
Hogan, Alvarado & Weddell, The Histology of the Eye, 1971
Howe, Lucien, The Muscles of the Eye, 1907-1908
Hoyt & Beeston, The Ocular Fundus in Neurologic Disease, 1966
Hughes, W. L., Reconstructive Surgery of the Eyelids, 1943
Inouye, Tatsuji, Sehstörungen bei Schussverletzungen der kortikalen Sehsphäre, 1909
Ishihara, Shinobu, Ishihara Charts for Color Blindness, 1917
Jackson, Edward, Skiascopy and its practical applications, 1895
Jaffe, Norman, Cataract Surgery and its Complications, 1972-97
Jones & Wobig, Surgery of the Eyelids and the Lacrimal System, 1976
Kelman, Charles, Phacoemulsification and Aspiration: the Kelman Technique of Cataract Removal, 1975
Kirby, Daniel B, Surgery of Cataract, 1950
Krachmer, Mannis & Holland, Cornea, 1997
Krill, Alex, Hereditary Retinal and Choroidal Diseases, 1972
Leigh & Zee, The Neurology of Eye Movement, 1983
Loewenfeld, Irene E., The Pupil, Anatomy, Physiology, and Clinical Applications,1993
Maddox, Ernest, Tests and Studies of Ocular Muscles, 1898-1935
Mandell, Robert, Contact Lens Practice, 1965
Mann, Ida Caroline, The Development of the Human Eye, 1928
May, Charles Henry, Manual of Disease of Eye, 1900-‘73
Meller, Josef, Ophthalmic Surgery, 1908
Meyer-Schwickerath, G., Lichtkoagulation, 1959
Milder & Rubin, The Fine Art Prescribing Glasses Without Making a Spectacle of Yourself, 1979
Mustardé, J. C., Repair and Reconstruction of the Orbital Region, 1966
Norris and Oliver, System of Diseases of Eye, 1897-1900
Obrig, Theo, Contact Lenses, 1942
Parsons, J. Herbert, The Pathology of the Eye, 1904-1908
Peter, Luther C., The Extra-Ocular Muscles, 1927
Posey & Spiller, The Eye and Nervous System, 1906
Ramon y Cajal, Santiago, Structure of Retina, 1894-1933
Reese, Algernon, Tumors of the Eye, 1951
Ryan, Stephen J., Retina, 1989
Salzmann, Maximilian, Anatomie und Histologie des Auges, 1912
Schepens, Charles, Retinal Detachment and Allied Diseases, 1983
Scobee, Richard, The Oculorotary Muscles, 1947
Sheehan, J. Eastman, Plastic Surgery of the Orbit, 1927
Shields, Jerry,
Intraocular Tumors, 1983
Shields, M. Bruce, Textbook of Glaucoma, 1982
Smith & Glaser, Neuro-ophth. Symp., 1965-1980
Smith, Henry, The Treatment of Cataract, 1910
Spaeth, Edmund, New Meth of Ophthal Plastic Surg., 1925
Spalton, Hitchings, Hunter, Atlas of Ophthalmology, 1984
Spencer, William, Ophthalmic Pathology, 1985
Stallard, H. B., Eye Surgery, 1946
Sugar, H. Saul, The Glaucomas, 1951
Traquair, Harry, An Introduction to Clinical Perimetry, 1927
Uribe-Troncoso, M., A Treatise on Gonioscopy, 1947
Vaughan & Asbury, General Ophthalmology, 1958-1999
Vogt, Alfred, Atlas of the Slit Lamp, 1921
Waardenburg, PJ, Das menschlichen Auge etc., 1932
Walsh, Frank, Clinical Neuro-ophthalmology, 1947
Wessely, Karl, Auge, (Henke–Lubarsch), 1928-1937
Wheeler, John Martin, The Collected Papers of JMW., 1939
Whitnall, S. Ernest, Anatomy of the Human Orbit, 1921
Wilbrand & Saenger, Die Neurologie des Auges., 1900-1922
Wolff, Eugene, The Anatomy of the Eye and Orbit, 1933
Wood, Casey, The American. Encyclopedia of Ophth., 1913–1921
Woods, Alan C., Endogenous Uveitis, 1956
Worth, Claud, Squint, 1903-1936
General Texts and Encyclopedias
In the middle of the 19th Century, with the invention if the ophthalmoscope by Helmholtz and the brains and energy of Albrecht v. Graefe, ophthalmic knowledge seemed to be exploding, and ophthalmology soon became a recognized specialty of medicine. After a few decades the need was felt to summarize all this new knowledge. In Germany this was done, with astonishing thoroughness, under the editorship of Alfred Graefe and Theodor Saemisch (the Graefe-Saemisch Handbuch der gesamten Augenheilkunde, 1874-1880) and in France by deWecker and Landoldt (Traité Complet d’Ophthalmologie, 4 volumes, 1880-1889) and after the turn of the century by Lagrange of Bordeaux and Valude of Quinze-Vingts, Paris (Encyclopédie française d’Ophtalmologie, 9 volumes, Octave Doin, Editeur, Paris, 1903-1910
Norris, Wm. F. & Oliver, Chas. A. A System of Diseases of the Eye. Philadelphia, J.P. Lippincott, 1897-‘00.
This massive four-volume work was a multi-authored compendium edited by Norris and Oliver. There were many illustrious contributions, including a large chapter by Hermann Wilbrand on perimetry, summarizing 19th century advances in the anatomy of the visual pathways and the intracranial lesions that produced visual field defects; and a lengthy section on glaucoma by Priestley Smith. This four volume “System”, which was seen as an American version of the famous French text by deWecker and Landoldt, grew out of the very popular single volume “Text-Book of Ophthalmology” by the same authors (Philadelphia, Lea Brothers, 1893). Their decision to switch to a multi-authored, multi-volume version promptly made their “Textbook” obsolete, even though it had already been translated into Chinese. Since Norris died just a few years later, the “System” was never revised. Their original “Textbook” had appeared in 1893 on the heels of two remarkable one-volume ophthalmology texts: Alexander Duane’s translation of Ernst Fuchs’ Lehrbuch in 1892, and George DeSchweinitz’s 1892 “Diseases of the Eye”. Both of these texts stuck to the one-volume format and persisted through 10 editions in English.
Wood, Casey A. (ed). The American Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Ophthalmology. Chicago, Cleveland Press, 1913-1921 (18 vols).
More than 100 ophthalmologists contributed to this work, with Thomas Hall Shastid writing about 10% of the entire set - including 3000 biographical sketches and a 375 page history of ophthalmology (Newell). This massive set of books underlined for the public and for the medical profession that ophthalmology, even though it dealt with a small organ, had considerable content that required many years of concentrated study and practice to master. At approximately the same time (1916-17), the first voluntary medical specialty certifying board in America was founded: the American Board of Ophthalmology.
Berens, Conrad. The Eye and its Diseases, by 82 international authorities. Philadelphia, W B Saunders, 1936.
This book was exceedingly popular, and after the war, in 1949, a second edition was put together, still in one volume, with contributions by even more international authorities. Berens must have been a persuasive man and a skillful editor because the book runs smoothly along with succinct summaries of knowledge by various well-known authors.
Duke-Elder, Sir Stewart 1. Textbook of Ophthalmology. (7 volumes, 1941-1954)
2. System of Ophthalmology, (19 volumes, 1958-1972) UK editions, London, H. Kimpton; US editions, St Louis, Mosby.
The “Textbook of Ophthalmology” began in the late 1930s, and was just getting going when the world war started. The second half of the set was written after the war. This delay made the first volumes seem old, and rather than do them over again, Duke-Elder undertook to edit a much more comprehensive, multi-authored “System of Ophthalmology”. Duke-Elder’s “System” was sold all over the world as the ultimate compendium of ophthalmic knowledge, although it was deliberately short on surgical procedure. Duke-Elder felt that surgical technique was a fleeting skill, a slave to fashion, and a mere technical servant of the art and science of ophthalmology. This attitude may have served as a subtle damper on innovation and progress in ophthalmic surgery. Duke-Elder’s special talent was in summarizing a great jumble of information into a single smoothly written, helpful paragraph; his astonishingly retentive memory and his encyclopedic output allowed him to stand like a Colossus astride the middle 40 years of the ophthalmic century. The System of Ophthalmology was highly valued: a young American ophthalmologist who collected the entire 19 volumes in the 1960s may have paid 5% of one year’s income for the set. Like most sets of books that take more than a decade to complete, the System was barely finished before it was seen as getting a little long in the tooth. None of the great surgical advances of the last generation can be found in this set, but it is still a gold mine of information on the ophthalmic basic sciences and it will always have value because of the author’s fascination with the history of his specialty.
Adler, Francis Heed. Physiology of the Eye. Clinical Application. St Louis, Mosby, 1992.
The first edition of this book appeared in 1950; 2nd edition,
1953; 3rd edition, 1959; 4th edition, 1965; 5th edition,
a multi-authored volume edited and in part re-written by Robert Moses, was
published in 1970; 6th edition, Moses, 1975; 7th edition,
Moses, 1981; 8th edition, Moses & W.M. Hart, 1987; 9th
edition, Hart, 1992.
This famous text had its start in 1933 with a book by Adler called Clinical Physiology of the Eye, New York, The Macmillan Company, 1933. The book was appreciated and admired and it filled a void, but physiology is a moving target, and Adler admitted that he had limited himself to those aspects of ocular physiology that sparked his interest. Almost twenty years went by before Adler attempted an update, and this time the book was more ambitious and had a new publisher. As the new title suggests, he still wanted to discuss ocular physiology in the context of a related clinical problem. “Adler’s Physiology of the Eye” has become a highly respected textbook of almost 900 pages, used throughout the world in the training of ophthalmologists; it is the envy of other medical specialties.
May, Charles Henry. Manual of Diseases of the Eye. New York, William Wood, 1900.
Dr. May graduated near the top of his Columbia medical school class at age 22 and after 2 years as a junior assistant at Mt Sinai Hospital began a medical practice. He was influenced by Cornelius Agnew, his professor of ophthalmology at Columbia, to take up the study of the eye, and undertook to spend 14 months in Europe. Upon returning to New York he received appointments at many hospitals and eventually directed the ophthalmology service at Bellevue. At age 39 he not only introduced a new double disc ophthalmoscope, but also published this little book addressed to medical students and general practitioners. Both were very popular. The book contained 22 colored plates, most of them fundus drawings, all of them done by Dr. May. He worked hard at keeping the book up to date. By 1917 there had already been 18 printings of the first 8 U.S. editions and the ninth edition had arrived. The book had been translated into seven different languages and a British edition had been supervised by Mr. Claud Worth. When Dr. May died in 1943 the book had gone through 18 U.S. editions and had been translated into 10 languages. For many years almost every medical student bought a copy. The book continued as “May's Manual” for another 30 years under the editorship first of Dr. Charles Perera, and then Dr. James H. Allen. All told, there were about 80 editions of this book published in various languages over the years, and many of them were reprinted more than once.
Vaughan, Daniel & Asbury, Taylor. General Ophthalmology. Los Altos, CA. Lange Medical Publications, 1958. (15th edition 1999, with Riordan-Eva, P. Appleton, Lange)
This is another book about ophthalmology that is not intended for ophthalmologists. It has always been in a modest, yellow, soft cover. In the 1960s it challenged Charles May's Manual of Diseases of the Eye and soon took over as the most popular summary of ophthalmology for medical students and general practitioners. It was translated into several languages and has served many doctors as an introduction to modern ophthalmology. It offers just what the general medical practitioner needs to know about ophthalmology: a basic understanding of the problem and a sense of when to refer the patient to a specialist.
American Academy of Ophthalmology. Basic and Clinical Science Course. San Francisco, CA A.A.O. 1940-2000.
In 1938, Dr Harry Gradle of Chicago proposed that the American Academy of Ophthalmology start a Home Study Course for ophthalmologists in training. When it got rolling in 1940 - again because of Dr. Gradle's energetic support - far more practitioners than residents signed up, but after the war the residents began signing up in droves. Booklets that surveyed a subspecialty area were written by well-known ophthalmologists (for example, Saul Sugar, Wilbur Rucker, Bruce Fralick), and a "faculty" of volunteer Academy members compiled reading lists, prepared questions and individually graded the written examinations.
In 1970 the course was restructured and
its name was changed to the Basic and Clinical Science Course, or
"BCSC" for short. By 1975 it was clearly aimed at both
ophthalmologists in training and at ophthalmologists in practice. Every year a
set of about 10 volumes was published, each volume devoted to a particular
"section" of ophthalmic knowledge.
The set has now grown to 12 substantial books with readable text (rather than bare outlines) and with color photos throughout, plus an index volume; and plans are being made for a 13th volume. Each year three of these books are rewritten from the ground up by a fresh subcommittee, while the rest are edited lightly every year by the same team that put them together. Thus the entire set is rewritten about every four years.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology, through the "BCSC", has been distributing fresh ophthalmic knowledge throughout the world for the last 60 years. The complete set now runs to 4200 printed pages, and about 1350 of these sets are sold every year (25% of them overseas). The total press run is in the neighborhood of 26,000 volumes each year - and every year any left over books are sent free to needy ophthalmology training institutions around the world. This massive project has been of incalculable benefit to the quality of ophthalmic care in this century.
Grant, Morton. Toxicology of the Eye. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, IL, 1962 (2nd ed. 1974; 3rd ed.1986; 4th ed. with Joel Schuman, 1993).
This office reference work has been nurtured along through several editions by Dr. Grant, the pioneering Boston glaucomatologist. The book is a fat, but readily accessible, clinical work with clear descriptions and good documentation. It is the book to turn to when considering the ocular toxic side effects of various drugs and preparations. The listing of both generic and trade names of medicines makes this especially helpful in practice. Lately the text has benefited greatly from Dr. F. Fraunfelder's National Drug Registry to keep up-to-date on new patterns of toxicity emerge.
Duane, Thomas. Clinical Ophthalmology. New York, Harper and Row, 1976.
This innovative text was designed to be always up-to-date. It was bound in a set of six sturdy 3 ring binders and it was hoped that every owner would become a subscriber. Revised chapters were sent by mail to replace the old chapters (a plan reminiscent of the Academy of Ophthalmology’s Basic and Clinical Sciences Course). Every year a few chapters were redone, so that in 4 or 5 years the whole set of volumes would be revised. The set is now called "Duane's Clinical Ophthalmology". For more than 20 years it has been a very influential textbook.
Dr. Duane was Professor of Ophthalmology at Jefferson Medical College and Ophthalmologist-in-Chief at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. He was a lifetime teacher and he was interested in helping the practicing ophthalmologist to make informed judgments about a patient’s diseases and treatments in the midst of a busy schedule. He was also addressing doctors who were in the process of Board Certification and licensing. Duane recruited the first group of section editors and many contributors then helped to prepare concise chapters. Dr. Duane died in 1993 and his associate editors Edward Jaeger and William Tasman have kept the project going. In 1982 a parallel set of loose-leaf books was started emphasizing the basic sciences of Ophthalmology; it was called "Duane's Foundations of Clinical Ophthalmology". The updates for both sets, under the same editorship, are now supplied by Lippincott-Williams and Wilkins.
Fraunfelder, F. & Roy, F. H. Current Ocular Therapy. Philadelphia, Saunders 1980 (5th ed. 2000).
The entries in this book are by various authors and they cover almost every disease a practicing ophthalmologist might encounter. Each entry offers a brief description of how the diagnosis is confirmed and then summarizes current treatment. Some ophthalmologists see this book as merely a condensed version of material that can be found in instructive detail elsewhere, however a great many ophthalmologists have found this book very useful and comforting; they have a copy to help them through a busy day at the office and an extra copy at home.
Spalton, D. J., Hitchings, R.A., Hunter, P.A. Atlas of Clinical Ophthalmology. London, Gower Medical Publishing, 1984, and in US, Philadelphia, Lippincott, 1984. (2nd ed., Wolfe/Mosby/ Yearbook, 1994).
This is a masterpiece of medical book design: it is a large book (a double page spread is 12" by 20") with two columns per page. The photos throughout are clean, and uncluttered by arrows and letters. Each has a matching, adjacent, computer-generated line diagram with arrows identifying the important parts. All the graphs and charts have been re-drawn with the same pastel palette of pale green, blue or yellow so that they don't jar the page. Any ophthalmologist riffling through the enlarged 2nd edition will be dazzled by 537 pages of irresistible visual delights. It is not surprising that this book has been such a popular and effective teaching tool.
Albert, D.M. & Jacobiec, F.A. Principles and Practice of Ophthalmology. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders, 1994 (2nd edition 2000).
This work was started while both the authors were at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Both are ophthalmic pathologists. Jacobiec is chair at MEEI, and Albert is now chair at the University of Wisconsin. This book was begun as a Harvard project, but quickly outgrew this focus as they recruited experts across the country as contributors. This set of 6 books is one of the best single summaries of ophthalmic knowledge since Duke-Elder, and might well be a modern clinical ophthalmologist's "desert island" choice.
Cataract Surgery
At the beginning of the century Hermann Knapp of New York was strongly recommending taking the entire cataractous lens out of the eye with its capsule intact. He liked to tumble the lens on its way out. In 1917 Ignacio Barraquer of Barcelona invented a little suction cup that he called an erysophake. With this suction he could grip the lens firmly and remove it without tearing the capsule. In 1949 Harold Ridley of London boldly tried to replace the cataractous crystalline lens with an intraocular acrylic lens. He had trouble securing the lens in the posterior chamber so he tried fixating the lenses in the anterior chamber angle. Most of these patients ended up with a cloudy cornea and glaucoma and had to have the plastic lenses removed. Joaquin Barraquer tried Ridley’s lenses with similar bad results and ended up in 1958 offering a way of dissolving the supporting zonules with an enzyme (“alpha-chymotrypsin zonulolysis”) thus contributing to the continuing popularity of intracapsular surgery. Binkhorst, despite Ridley’s failure, had the courage in 1958 to try a 4-loop iris-clip plastic intraocular lens, and then offered a 2-loop iridocapsular lens in 1965. Krasner suggested sponging up the anterior vitreous. Cryoextraction of the lens was introduced by Krawicz in 1961 . Kelman introduced phacoemulsification in 1967, and gradually the advantages of the small incisions, extracapsular extraction and the new posterior chamber lenses won over the profession.
Smith, Henry. The Treatment of Cataract. Calcutta, Thacker, Spink & Co, 1910.
Lt.-Colonel Smith of the Indian Medical Service, who was famous for his ever-present cigar, had done over 24,000 cataract extractions in northern India when he wrote this book. He liked to slip the entire lens out of the eye through a Graefe knife incision, with a curved spatula under the lens and a bulbous-tipped lens hook pressing the cornea against the lower half of the lens. The on-the-spot pen and ink sketches of every step by Derrick T. Vail and the huge experience of Colonel Smith served to popularize intracapsular cataract extraction by the “Smith-Indian” technique.
Arruga, Hermengildo. Cirugia ocular. Barcelona, Salvat Editores, 1946
(The 3rd edition was translated into English as Ocular Surgery by Hogan & Chapparo, NY, McGraw-Hill, 1952; There were 5 Spanish editions and translations into 3 languages).
Arruga (1886-1972 ) was the brilliant son of a Barcelona ophthalmologist who began his medical studies at age 16. At 21 he was studying ophthalmology in France and Germany with Landolt, de Lapersonne and Hirschberg. He later embraced Gonin’s new treatment for retinal detachment. He lived a long and admirably full life. This well-made and handsomely illustrated volume was an important source of instruction for 20 years.
Kirby, Daniel B. Surgery of Cataract. Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott, 1950.
This book, assembled with great care, appeared at the peak of the popularity of intracapsular cataract extraction. It is printed on high quality paper and has 339 in-text figures and 21 color plates, each with 2 or 3 paintings by Gus Bethke. At every opportunity Kirby emphasizes the history of cataract surgery, often illustrating his point with a vignette or comment from the old literature. Every student of modern cataract surgery ought to read this book. The technical aspects may already be 50 years behind the times but the patients and their cataracts are the same, and Kirby’s knowledge, experience and humanity come through. Kirby’s follow-up book (Advanced Surgery of Cataract, 1955) lays out his own preferred techniques and addresses the management of complications. It is clearly just an appendix to his 1950 book.
Kelman, Charles. Phacoemulsification and Aspiration: the Kelman Technique of Cataract Removal. Birmingham, Ala., Aesculapius Pub. Co., 1975.
Kelman was as innovative to cataract surgery in the 20th century as Daviel was in the 18th. In 1967 he introduced phacoemulsification. He entered the eye through a small incision, removed the anterior capsule of the lens, and then using an ultrasound probe he fragmented the clouded lens and removed every scrap of it by suction, leaving the posterior capsule suspended by the intact zonules as a hammock for the plastic replacement lens. The response was prompt and mostly negative as outlined in his auto-biography, (Through My Eyes: The Story of a Surgeon Who Dared to Take on the Medical World , New York, Crown,1985). The procedure has of course been modified a great deal in the last generation, but Kelman’s phaco-emulsification has become the standard cataract procedure throughout the world, and today we expect cataract surgery to have a minimal recuperation time, and each year we expect ever more flexible and forgiving posterior chamber lenses. (See also: The History of Modern Cataract Surgery by Charles Kelman and Marvin Kwitko, Kugler Publications, 1998)
Jaffe, Norman S. Cataract Surgery and its Complications. St Louis, C V Mosby, 1972.
When this book first appeared it came across as a lone, thoughtful voice in an exciting new field. It is now in its 6th edition (1997) with younger Jaffes as co-authors. This series has kept up with cataract surgery during the period of greatest innovation and change since Daviel by serving up to a generation of surgeons a dependable and nourishing diet of instruction on new tricks and techniques, garnished with cautionary notes and supported by the steadying voice of experience.
Eisner, Georg. Augenchirurgie : Einführung in die operative Technik. Berlin, Springer Verlag, 1973 (1st US edition 1980, 189pp; 2nd US edition 1990, 318pp. Translated into English by T.C. Telger as Eye Surgery: an Introduction to Operative Technique).
Eisner teaches ophthalmology at the University of Bern. A book like this is just what every teacher of ophthalmic surgery needs to help answer questions, and what every would-be eye surgeon needs to own and study. Instead of merely mimicking his master, the student can find in this book a lucid explanation of why the knife should be held just so, and the knot tied left over right, etc. It has many helpful, easy-to-understand, two-color diagrams by Peter Schneider, diagrams that no doubt helped the 1973 edition to be named as one of the “Fifty Most Beautiful German Books of the Year” by the Book Art Foundation of the Association of the German Book Trade.
Cornea and External Disease
Axenfeld, K. Theodor P. P. Die Bakteriologie in der Augenheilkunde. Jena : Gustav Fischer, 1907.
(Translated as The Bacteriology of the Eye by Angus McNab, London, Ballière, Tyndall & Cox, 1908, and New York, William Wood & Co, 1908).
Victor Morax (1866-1935) of Paris wrote a chapter in the Encyclopédie française d’Ophtalmologie, (Paris, Octave Doin, 1903-1910) on the bacteriology of conjunctival disease. Axenfeld (1867-1930) who became professor at Freiburg, expanded on his friend and colleague’s chapter and brought together other material to produce a textbook in 1907 that became very influential. Axenfeld’s book popularized the clinical use of the Gram stain.
Vogt, Alfred (1879-1943). Lehrbuch und Atlas der Spaltlampen-mikroskopie des lebenden Auges. 2nd edition. Begun by Springer Verlag, Berlin in 1930-31, and completed in Stuttgart by Ferdinand Enke in 1942.
The first version of this amazing three-volume atlas appeared in 1921 as a single slim volume dedicated to Allvar Gullstrand, the inventor of the slit-lamp (Atlas der Spaltlampen-mikroskopie des lebenden Auges, Berlin, Springer, 1921). An English version of the first edition (153 pages) also appeared at the same time, translated by Robert von der Heydt of Chicago, and also printed by Brockhaus in Leipzig (Atlas of the Slit Lamp-Microscopy of the Living Eye Berlin, Julius Springer, 1921).
Vogt was Professor and head of the ophthalmology department at Zürich from 1923-1943. He worked with diathermy in the treatment of glaucoma and retinal detachment, but his major contribution was in the clinical use of the slit lamp. In 1920 Gullstrand’s new instrument was still uncommon, but Vogt, then director of the University Ophthalmic Hospital in Basel, turned it into an indispensable part of the modern eye examination. He contrived to narrow the light beam, brighten and simplify the light source, and focus the light on the slit. The resultant even, narrow beam required some dark adaptation in the observer, but detail was seen as never before. Then he used his modified slit lamp to perform techniques of focal illumination, transillumination, specular examination and indirect lateral examination.
These are all well described in his text, but it is the illustrations by Jakob Iseli that leap off the page and still bring gasps of admiration from modern ophthalmologists because of the exquisite attention that was paid to the minutest details. It is obvious from the drawings that Iseli was facile with the instrument and understood what he was seeing: his paintings are often composites of what could be seen at different planes of focus, and in those first slit lamps the center of rotation of the lamp and the microscope were not co-axial. And imagine the work of keeping a hot, smoking, sparking and sighing arc lamp constantly tuned up while he was drawing.
In 1925 Vogt hired Bregenzer as an artist and taught him to paint what he saw in the slit-lamp with the same kind of breathtaking detail. A much enlarged three-volume edition then came out between 1930 and 1942, (Vol I, Berlin, Springer, 1930; Vol II, Berlin, Springer, 1931; Vol III, F. Enke, Stuttgart, 1942. At about the same time Volume 3 also appeared locally in Zürich, in an English translation). Many of Iseli’s paintings were incorporated into this new edition, but all the new ones were by Bregenzer. It was the magnitude of this work and the excellence of the paintings that brought fame to Vogt, and the book is once again in print. In 1977 a luxury edition was brought out in German by Wayenborgh Publishing and the same company then published an English translation by Blodi (Vol I,1978; Vol 2, 1979) and in 1981 a reprint of the Zürich English version of the 3rd volume.
Berliner, M. L. Biomicroscopy of the Eye. New York, Paul B. Hoeber, 1943-1949. Vol. 1 appeared in 1943 and was reprinted in 1949 when the second volume came out.
Berliner taught slit lamp biomicroscopy at various New York hospitals, and these volumes are a spare-no-expense effort to put these clever techniques and beautiful images between the covers of a book. Zeiss slit lamps were used and it seems that the electric bulbs suffused these images with a warmth that was not present in Iseli’s arc-lamp drawings. The paintings by J. McGuiness Myers in Berliner’s book also have a style that differs from those in Vogt’s atlas. Iseli’s paintings suggest the notes of a meticulous explorer, scrupulously accurate, recording every detail no matter how trivial; but there is a teacher looking over McGuiness Myers’ shoulder, asking for emphasis where it is clinically important. This gives the Berliner/Myers pictures a confident air of certainty that makes them better teaching instruments.
Castroviejo, Ramon. Atlas de queratectomías y queratoplastias. Barcelona, Salvat Editores, 1964; English edition, Atlas of Keratectomy and Keratoplasty. Phila, Saunders, 1966; German edition Keratektomie und Keratoplastik. (translated and edited by F. Holwich) Stuttgart, G. Thieme Verlag, 1968.
Castroviejo (1904-1987) was born in northern Spain, the son of an ophthalmologist. At age 24, having completed medical school and ophthalmic training, he accepted a position as an assistant at the Chicago Eye & Ear Hospital. The next year he was working at experimental corneal transplantation under Dr Benedict at the Mayo Clinic, and the following year (1931) he was invited by Dr Maynard Wheeler to New York’s Columbia Presbyterian. Within a few years Castroviejo was making successful square corneal grafts in humans. The square graft remained his signature procedure until the early 1950s. He opened his own eye hospital in New York in the 1940s, and patients were sent to him from all over the world. Castroviejo was a pioneer of corneal transplantation and he trained many corneal surgeons. It was his drive and energy that produced the techniques and the instruments that made corneal grafting a successful operation. His book summarized his work and the latest technology of the day.
Donaldson, David D. Atlas of External Diseases of the Eye. Vol 1 Congenital anomalies and systemic diseases. St Louis, C V Mosby, 1966.
(Vol 2, Orbit, lacrimal apparatus, eyelids and conjunctiva, 1968. Vol 3, Cornea and Sclera, 1971. Vol 4, Anterior Chamber Iris, and Ciliary Body, 1973. Vol 5, The Crystalline Lens, 1976)
This thorough collection of color stereo-photographs, extending over 5 volumes and supported by text and B&W photos, were all taken with the “Donaldson camera”. The vivid 3-D photos brought diseases of the external eye to life, and served to extend the visual experience of many ophthalmologists in training.
Fedukowicz, Helena B. External Infections of the Eye : bacterial, viral and mycotic. NY, Appleton Century Crofts 1963.
Helena Biantovskava Fedukowicz (1900-1998) was born in the Ukraine and educated in the Soviet Union, where she eventually became a professor of Ophthalmology at Vinniza with an interest in infectious disease. She arrived in the US in 1949. After some English lessons, she got a job, through the efforts of Dr George Wise, running an ophthalmic bacteriology laboratory at New York University supported by the NYU chairman, Dr. Alson E. Braley. Her book, on the clinical bacteriology of the eye was the first written in English and the first since Axenfeld’s book. Beatrice Glover had drawn an excellent series of color plates, but the publisher refused to use them saying that color would be too expensive. Fedukowicz insisted that color was essential. This impasse was broken when an anonymous donor paid the cost of the plates. The book became very popular and was used widely in teaching institutions; subsequent co-authored editions appeared in 1978 and 1985, with a Spanish edition in 1987. Fedukowicz was elected an Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in 1982. Later it came out that the anonymous donor was Dr. George Wise. (see: Baum, Jules. Helena B. Fedukowicz, Documenta Ophthalmologica 99:215-218, 1999
Grayson, Merrill. Diseases of the Cornea. St Louis, C.V.Mosby, 1979.
(2nd ed. 1983; 3rd ed. by R. Arffa, 1991; 4th ed. by R. Arffa, 1997).
This one volume introduced the ophthalmologist in training to corneal disease. It was thorough, well organized and richly illustrated with color photographs that seemed unusually clear and expressive. It proved to be very popular.
Krachmer, J. H., Mannis, M. & Holland, E. Cornea. St Louis, C.V.Mosby, 1997.
The medical illustrator involved with this project was Martin Finch. It started with a spectacular atlas (Krachmer, Jay H. and Palay, David, Color Atlas of the cornea, Mosby, 1995) and went on to a three volume text (Vol 1: Fundamentals; Vol 2: Diagnosis and Management; Vol 3: Surgery). With 250 contributors it must have been a staggering editorial job, but there is no doubt that it is now the most complete compendium available on the subject.
Glaucoma
In 1857 von Graefe found that taking out a large piece of the iris seemed to help many patients with glaucoma (Graefe’s Archiv 3:456, 1857, and then 4:127, 1858; 8:242, 1862; and 15:108, 1859). Graefe’s early work on this subject was translated into English and published by the New Sydenham Society in 1859). Eserine eye drops, made from the Calabar bean, were used before iridectomy to produce a miosis so that the iridectomy could be made peripherally in the iris. It was soon noticed that occasionally the glaucoma seemed better after the eserine so that the surgery was no longer needed. Graefe also suggested that a visual field examination could, and should be done in the office (Graefe’s Archiv 2:258, 1856). Towards the end of the 19th century glaucoma was considered to be identical to elevated intraocular pressure (and vice versa). “Low-tension glaucoma” by definition, did not exist. The English language glaucoma expert was Priestley Smith.
Elliot, Robert Henry. Treatise on Glaucoma. London, Henry Frowde and Hodder & Stoughton, 1922. (US edition, Paul B. Hoeber in New York).
Major Elliot (1864-1936) working at the Government Ophthalmic Hospital in Madras, India, began in 1909 to use a trephine to make a very anterior sclerectomy under a conjunctival flap, coupled with a peripheral iridectomy, in the hope of improving on the operation of Félix Lagrange (Bordeaux), and when he reported 50 cases in 1909 he didn’t know that Freeland Fergus (Glasgow) and Søren Holth (Christiania) had just reported something similar. His book on “Sclero-corneal Trephining” appeared in 1913 after 900 cases, and the procedure received worldwide publicity. Elliot took part in a glaucoma discussion with Priestley Smith and Lagrange at the International Congress of Medicine in London. He then made a trip to America visiting many ophthalmic centers and doing his operation 135 more times. Elliot’s trephining procedure was a lot more effective in treating chronic glaucoma than an iridectomy, so, with such a vigorous send off it is not surprising that his trephining procedure took it’s place beside Holth’s iridencleisis as one of the most popular glaucoma operations for the next 40 years. Elliot’s first book was Sclero-corneal Trephining in the Operative Treatment of Glaucoma, 1913, George Pulman & Sons, London. (Second edition, 1914, Geo Pulman, London and Paul B. Hoeber, New York). This book made him famous and he followed up with annual summaries on progress in glaucoma in the Ophthalmic Yearbooks of 1913 to 1916, a short book called “Glaucoma, a Handbook for the General Practitioner” 1917, H.K. Lewis, London; and in 1918, “Glaucoma; A Textbook for the Student of Ophthalmology”, H.K. Lewis, London, (Paul. B. Hoeber in New York). It was the enlarged second edition of this book, (published in 1922 and called Treatise on Glaucoma, Henry Frowde and Hodder & Stoughton, London, and Paul B. Hoeber in New York) that did a major service to ophthalmology by improving the quality of teaching about glaucoma, and by posing some questions about the mechanisms of the disease process.
Iridencleisis was dropped for fear of sympathetic ophthalmia, and the post-operative complications of cyclodialysis made it fall from favor. Variations of Elliot’s trephination are still in use: Scheie’s thermal sclerectomy was popular for a while, and Cairns’ 1968 trabeculectomy turned out to be another external filtering operation that worked quite well.
Uribe-Troncoso, Manuel. A Treatise on Gonioscopy. Philadelphia, F.A.Davis, 1947.
Gonioscopy had a long history before 1947, but this book brought the test into the ophthalmologist’s office. For a review of the history of gonioscopy (Trantas, Salzmann, Koeppe, Barkan) see Dellaporta, Survey Ophthalmology 20: 137-149, 1975. Uribe-Troncoso’s (1869-1959) 1947 book was the first comprehensive book on gonioscopy. Trantas’ word ‘gonioscopy’ was in the title and was used throughout the book. Color paintings by Gus Bethke were the best then available. The anatomic landmarks of the chamber angle as seen with the gonioscope were named and clarified in this book. Examination of the chamber angle now had a familiar name, familiar landmarks and there were clinical indications for its use in the ophthalmologist’s office, but it was still an awkward procedure: the patient was lying down, and a large, bulbus, limbus to limbus Koeppe lens was used to view the angle directly. The internal curvature of the lens vaulted over the cornea and this space had to be filled with water. The lens was then pressed to the patient’s eye while the patient was turned on his back so that a suspended microscope and illuminator could be brought up for viewing. The water would often leak out, allowing air to bubble up and spoil the view. Nevertheless Troncoso’s book marked the elevation of gonioscopy to an important clinical test, in part because Sugar, Gradle and Kronfeld were verifying the value of Barkan’s classification of the glaucomas by the appearance of the chamber angle.
Goldmann’s major contribution to gonioscopy was the Haag-Streit 900 slit lamp. This was an instrument in which the microscope and the light beam and the attached camera were always in focus together no matter what angle separated them, because they all moved together when the joy stick was moved. The joy-stick could be operated with one hand, leaving the other free to hold Goldmann’s mirrored lens against the eye.
Sugar, H. Saul. The Glaucomas. New York, Hoeber-Harper, 1951 (2nd edition 1957).
Dr. Sugar (1912-1993) was a thoughtful ophthalmologist who made many contributions to the literature, including some of the early work on pigmentary glaucoma. He was in private practice in Detroit and, in addition to being the Head of the Department of Ophthalmology at Detroit’s Sinai Hospital, he was a professor at Wayne State University Medical School, and head of the glaucoma service there. His 1951 book was the first American textbook on Glaucoma and it was based largely on his own considerable experience and knowledge. He was interested in gonioscopy (see Sugar’s chapter in vol. 2 of Berliner’s 1949 Biomicroscopy text). Gonioscopy was used by Barkan not only for surgical goniotomy but also to differentiate one kind of glaucoma from another (note Sugar’s use of the plural in his title). This text encouraged many others to tackle some of the unsolved problems in the glaucomas.
Becker, B. & Shaffer, R.N., Diagnosis and Therapy of the Glaucomas. St Louis, C.V. Mosby, 1961. (Through seven editions there have been many co-authors and editors including Kolker, A.; Hetherington, J. Jr.; Hoskins, H. D.; Stamper, R.; Lieberman, M.; Drake, M and Kass, M).
Dr. Becker was Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at Washington University in St. Louis for 35 years (1953-88), he established a glaucoma research center, and was the founding editor of "Investigative Ophthalmology". His brilliance and erudition are legendary. He was an enthusiastic collector of old ophthalmic books and eventually gave his entire collection to the Medical Library at Washington University. His energetic fund raising for that library resulted in it being named “The Bernard Becker Medical Library”.
Dr Shaffer was active in California for most of his clinical years. He produced a stereo atlas of gonioscopy and was a leading expert in gonioscopic surgery in infants. He also did work on malignant glaucoma and the vitreous diversion syndrome, and served for many years as the Executive Director of the American Board of Ophthalmology.
This text, designed for students of ophthalmology, was very clear and definite about the mechanisms at work in glaucoma and what should be done about it. It began in 1961 with the goal of making available the current thinking about pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of the glaucomas in a single volume, and it did it remarkably well. If it can be said that "Lectures on Glaucoma" by Chandler and Grant was the definitive glaucoma textbook on the East Coast, especially in New England, then Becker and Shaffer's book was certainly the glaucoma bible of the West Coast. Different treatments were recommended, and they even used opposite numbering systems for openness of the angle. These differences have softened as the new editors have worked on the text and brought diverse backgrounds to the work. The importance of pressure elevation with steroid administration was stressed, and impressive efforts have been made in later editions to keep the therapy up to date.
Ascher, Karl W. The Aqueous Veins. Springfield, Charles C. Thomas, 1961.
Dr. Ascher was originally from Prague where he had a special interest in keratoplasty. Because of the war he came to the US in 1939 and worked at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine with Derrick Vail. Having studied with Alfred Vogt, Ascher was an expert with the slit lamp and detected and recognized the importance of aqueous veins. These are transparent vessels which transport aqueous from Schlemm's canal into the conjunctival or episcleral veins. This discovery settled three debates that were active at the time. First whether the aqueous fluid was a stagnant system, second whether primary open angle glaucoma was a problem of retention or of over-production of fluid, and third whether Schlemm's canal was normally a non-functioning space, which was only active in glaucomatous conditions with raised intraocular pressure. The working out of these questions also helped lead to the popularity of tonography in the middle part of the century.
Chandler, Paul A. & Grant, W. Morton. Lectures on Glaucoma. Philadelphia, Lea & Febiger, 1965 (2nd edition, 1968; 3rd edition 1986. A fourth edition 1996 was made available as Chandler and Grant's Glaucoma edited by David Epstein, Rand Allingham, and Joel Schuman.)
Chandler and Grant worked at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and gave a series of clinical lectures on glaucoma there. These lectures were primarily to "provide a practical guide for recognition and modern treatment of the various forms of glaucoma and for the solution of problems encountered clinically." They brought these lectures together for publication, deliberately avoiding the research aspects of glaucoma and the details of surgical techniques. For years this book was carefully studied and mined sentence by sentence for its nuggets of clinical wisdom. It has grown and broadened in the last generation, surgical teaching has been included and many new ideas have been introduced. It is still a clinician’s guide but it has become far more than a set of Boston lectures.
Shields, M. Bruce. Textbook of Glaucoma. Baltimore, Williams and Wilkins, 1982.
This much admired text grew along a well-trodden path: first the author put together A Study Guide for Glaucoma (Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins 1982) for his students. This was very popular so he expanded it in 1987 into a Textbook of Glaucoma, which was even more popular. This was followed by 3rd (1992) and 4th (1998) editions, with contributions by other authors. Great care was taken to keep the book up to date: for example, sections on. nerve thickness and the modulation of wound healing were expanded. Dr. Shields was professor of ophthalmology and director of the glaucoma service at Duke University when this work was done.
Anderson, Douglas R. Testing the Field of Vision. St Louis, C.V. Mosby, 1982.
This was the first of an important series of books about visual field testing. The second book (1987) was called "Perimetry with and without Automation". This grew into a 3rd book (1992) called. "Automated Static Perimetry". The 4th edition was co-authored with Patella, V. in 1999. Dr.Anderson is a professor of ophthalmology at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. He directs the glaucoma service, so it is natural that his books emphasize glaucomatous field loss rather than defects of neurologic origin. The general shift from kinetic perimetry to automated static perimetry can be seen in this series of books. This in turn is a reflection of the success of the Humphrey Visual Field Analyser with its various new models, strategies and programs for getting the most accurate representation of the visual field. These new programs require a text such as Anderson and Patella’s to explain how best to do and interpret the fields. It was at first hoped that automated visual field testing would provide a purely objective result. But it soon became obvious that without supervision and encouragement by an experienced perimetrist the test could turn out entirely untrustworthy results. The book faces up to this problem and offers an excellent guide for the perimetrist on how to oversee the testing moment by moment, how to change the strategy as needed and how to explain to the patient the purpose and technique of the testing to get the best results.
Alward, Wallace L. Color Atlas of Gonioscopy. Wolfe Publishing, Mosby-Yearbook, 1994.
This book, illustrated by Lee Allen, is not a glaucoma text, it is a slim guide to gonioscopy for the fledgling ophthalmologist. In the early 1940s Lee Allen, in Iowa City, made a direct goniolens so light in weight that it could be held on the cornea by the eyelids and capillary attraction alone. An improved version was equipped with an internally reflecting surface built into the plastic; this gonioprism was held against the cornea and manipulated with a thumb guide. The patient could then be seated and examined at a slit lamp. The Allen-Thorpe version was provided with 4 mirrors so it didn’t have to be rotated all the way around. However after only a decade or so of use this handy gonioprism was replaced by Goldmann’s lens. Lee Allen’s drawings of the chamber angle using his gonioprism, made in the late 1940s and early 1950s are outstanding, and remain unsurpassed in clarity. Their publication here in Alward’s instructional book is a winning combination that is much prized as a teaching tool.
Neuro-ophthalmology
Wilbrand, Hermann & Saenger, Alfred. Die Neurologie des Auges: ein Handbuch für Nerven- und Augenärtze. Wiesbaden, J.F. Bergmann, 1900-1922.
Having done chapters for other texts, Wilbrand started on his own work in 1899, in collaboration with Alfred Saenger. It was called “The Neurology of the Eye: a handbook for neurologists and ophth-almologists”. There were to be nine volumes in the set, and they were published over a considerable period of time and were not completed until 1922. These volumes offered a detailed summary of the contributions to German neuro-ophthalmology over the last half of the 19th century. This exhaustive set, together with the endless Graefe-Saemisch (neither of them ever translated into English) were the origin of the statement that “The ‘Laurels of Originality’ often celebrate nothing more than an ignorance of the old German literature.”
Posey, William Campbell and Spiller, William G. The Eye and Nervous System, their diagnostic relations by various authors. Phila., J.P. Lippincott, 1906.
When William Thomson retired from his clinic at the Wills Eye Hospital in January 1902, he was succeeded in June by William Campbell Posey, a man who had an even stronger interest in the neurological problems of vision. Posey collaborated with William Gibson Spiller, the neurologist at the Pennsylvania Hospital, who had spent four years in Europe training with Oppenheim, Obersteiner, Edinger, Déjérine and Gowers. In 1906 they produced a fat, multi-authored textbook called “The Eye and Nervous System”. There were 100 pages on eye movements by Alexander Duane, 40 pages on the 5th, 7th and sympathetic nerves by Edward Jackson, and 80 pages on neuroses and psychoses by DeSchweinitz. This single volume was Philadelphia’s answer to what Wilbrand and Saenger were doing. ‘Posey and Spiller’ was America’s first text devoted exclusively to the subject matter now called Neuro-ophthalmology. For a generation this book was the best one-volume text on the neurology of vision.
Inouye, Tatsuji (1880-1976). Die Sehstörungen bei Schussverletzungen der kortikalen Sehsphäre, nach Beobachtungen an Verwundeten der letzten japanischen Kriege. Leipzig, W. Engelmann, 1909 (An English translation of this work is available through the journal Brain).
The anatomists of the late 19th century had identified the visual pathways in the brain all the way to the occipital cortex, (see Polyak’s masterful review: especially Chaps. 4 & 12 of The Vertebrate Visual System, Univ Chicago Press, 1957) and Wilbrand and then Henschen had laid out the expected visual field loss associated with various cerebral lesions. A few focal injuries to the brain were needed to confirm the facts in humans. During and after Japan’s war with Russia (1904-1905 ), Inouye was able to test the visual fields in wounded soldiers for insurance purposes and realized the importance of his observations. A few years later, during World War I, the London neurologist Gordon Holmes, examining soldiers with shrapnel injuries to the brain, began to sort out the exact representation of the retina in the visual pathways and cortex (Brain,1916, 39:34; BJO,1918, 2:353). On the German side Wilhelm Uhthoff was making similar observations; he may have had fewer occipital injuries to work with because of the shape of the German helmet. For 75 years Holmes’ map was the best available. In 1991 Horton and Hoyt (Arch Ophth. 109: 816-824) were able to make a small improvement on Holmes’ map of the representation of the visual field in the human occipital cortex.
Traquair, Harry Moss (1876-1954). An Introduction to Clinical Perimetry. London, Henry Kimpton 1927, and St Louis, C V Mosby (6th ed. 1949).
In the first quarter of the century, the tangent screen, as recommended by Bjerrum and Rönne in Copenhagen, and picked up by A.H.H.Sinclair of Edinburgh (TOSUK, 1905) was being popularized in America by Alexander Duane, Harry Friedenwald and Luther C. Peter, and it was beginning to replace the arc perimeter. Traquair of Edinburgh, Scotland took a special interest in tangent screen campimetry, and in 1927 produced a book called “An Introduction to Clinical Perimetry” that he personally carried through six editions. The 7th was done in 1957 by Traquair’s student G.I. Scott. Traquair’s book, in which he introduced the concept of “the Island of Vision”, was the standard perimetry text throughout the world until edged out by David O. Harrington’s text book “Visual Fields” in the late 1950s.
Cogan, David G. The Neurology of the Ocular Muscles. Springfield, Charles C. Thomas, 1945 (published simultaneously in UK by Blackwell, Oxford, and in Canada by the Ryerson Press, Toronto).
Cogan’s small but fully referenced book was written in a very economical style so that one could pick up several important points in a single paragraph. Many of the brainstem syndromes that disturbed eye movements mentioned by Bielschowsky were brought into sharper focus . No better description of the cranial nerves serving the eye muscles could be found.
Walsh, Frank Burton. Clinical Neuro-ophthalmology. Baltimore, Williams & Wilkins, 1947.
Walsh (1895-1978) was a Canadian from Saskatchewan who had served in World War I. He received his medical degree from the University of Manitoba in 1921, interned in Winnipeg, and began to practice general medicine. After seven years he decided he wanted to specialize and began a residency at Johns Hopkins in 1930 with Dr Wilmer as his chief. Walsh was particularly influenced by Frank Ford, the pediatric neurologist, who was working on a book called “Diseases of the Nervous System in Infancy, Childhood and Adolescence” (Springfield, Charles C. Thomas 1937). Walsh’s 1947 book, “Clinical Neuro-ophthalmology”, was so impressive and so popular that he soon started working on the second edition and this came out in 1957; it had three columns instead of two and was altogether a very impressive compendium of neuro-ophthalmic knowledge. The third edition was the product of a collaboration between Dr Walsh and his 1958 fellow William F. Hoyt of San Francisco. It appeared in 1969. The fourth edition of “Walsh and Hoyt” came out in the 80’s revised and greatly enlarged by Neil Miller, Walsh’s successor at the Wilmer Institute. For the fifth edition of “Walsh & Hoyt”, Miller and his co-editor Nancy Newman solicited chapters from many neuro-ophthalmologists. The dramatic increase in the size of this book through its five editions is an indicator of the geometric expansion of neuro-ophthalmic knowledge in the 2nd half of the 20th century.
Bender, Morris B. The Oculomotor System. NY, Hoeber, 1964.
In 1961 Dr. Bender put together a symposium on eye movement control at the Mt Sinai Hospital Department of Neurology in New York, and this book was the result. The symposium attracted investigators from all over the world, and since that time, these workers and their successors have met repeatedly to compare notes, (see the work of Daroff, Dell’Osso, Robinson, Leigh, Zee, Baloh, Sharpe, Halmagyi, Paige and others). This has led to significant new understanding of eye movement control.
Hoyt, William Fletcher & Beeston, Diane. The Ocular Fundus in Neurologic Disease: a Diagnostic Manual and Stereo Atlas. St Louis, CV Mosby, 1966.
In the 1870s and 1880s many voices had strongly urged that the ophthalmoscope by used by all physicians to examine the retina and the optic nerve head (see especially Eduard Jaeger, Hughlings Jackson, Clifford Allbutt, and William Gowers). This book, by a neuro-ophthalmologist (Hoyt) and a photographer (Beeston), follows in the same tradition. There are 14 viewmaster reels and a fold-up viewer at the back. The book sold out almost immediately and was never reprinted. A generation of neuro-ophthalmologists used this book, if they could find a copy, to teach a generation of ophthalmologists about the differential diagnosis of the elevated optic nerve head.
Smith, J. Lawton & Glaser, Joel S. Neuro-ophthalmology – University of Miami Symposia, Vol 1. Springfield, Charles Thomas, 1964. Vols 2-4, 6-10, St Louis, C.V Mosby,1965-1980. Vol 5, Hallandale, FL, Huffman, 1971.
These were the years of spectacular growth of the subspecialty of neuro-ophthalmology, and Lawton Smith was a major player: he was guru, enthusiast, teacher, catalyst and salesman. In the mid 1960s his “Miami Symposium” was the only annual meeting for neuro-ophthalmologists. In this series of ten books Smith and Glaser manage to convey the bubbling and uneven quality of the new subspecialty, and the excitement of learning something new every day. It was this sense of immediacy that Smith later transferred to his role as founding editor of the Journal of Clinical Neuro-ophthalmology.
Leigh, John & Zee, David S. The Neurology of Eye Movement. Philadelphia, F.A. Davis Co, 1983, 281 pp. (2nd edit., 561 pp, 1991; 3rd edit., 646 pp. 1999).
These two clinicians wrote their book for ophthalmologists, neurologists and neurosurgeons who in turn continue to find it of value in recognizing and understanding clinical problems. The peg-board upon which various eye movement abnormalities have been hung up and sorted out is that of control systems analysis and modeling as recommended by the neurophysiologist David A. Robinson. This technique has helped to answer many difficult questions about the pathophysiology of human eye movements.
Loewenfeld, Irene E. The Pupil: Anatomy, Physiology and Clinical Applications. Ames, Iowa State University Press, 1993, 2223 pages, (2nd printing Butterworth & Heinemann, 1999).
Otto Löwenstein (1890 -1965) was professor of Neuropsychiatry at University of Bonn from 1933-38. He was interested in pupillary movements and eventually settled in New York where he practiced medicine and continued his efforts to record and understand pupillary movements. In 1940 Irene Loewenfeld began to work in Löwenstein’s lab at NYU (and later at Columbia) first as a technician, then as a graduate student, and eventually as a collaborator in pupillary research. Together they made many important contributions to pupillary physiology over the next decades. In 1993, Loewenfeld completed this thorough and important book on the workings of the pupil of the eye starting with and building upon Löwenstein’s contributions. (See review in Amer. J. Ophthal. 116:117-119,1993)
Optics and Refraction
Although spectacles had been invented in the 13th Century, and were common as reading aids ever since the eye had been recognized in the early 17th century to be an optical device, a real understanding of how to measure a patient’s eye for glasses only came in the 19th century. The standardized vision chart with 20/20 notation was proposed by Snellen in 1862; Donders clarified the scientific basis of refraction in 1864, and in 1876 Nagel suggested the “diopter” as a standard unit of lens power. In the first years of the 20th century some ophthalmologists were doing very careful refractions, trying to incorporate cylindrical power into spectacles after estimating corneal astigmatism with a Javal-Schiøtz keratometer, and refining the refraction with and without atropinic eye drops. This was in contrast to the rough estimates that went into the dispensing of most glasses.