A history of surgery to the end of the 16th century. Includes translations from the literature and illustrations of instruments. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

History of 18th-century German surgery.

Reprinted, N.Y., 1970.

Each chapter contains prefatory comments, a short biography of each main builder of the particular milestone (with portrait), and his surgical contribution reprinted or translated in full.

Emphasizing surgery, this is an exceptionally imaginative and exquisitely designed and illustrated history of medicine in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and China.

Not a systematic history but an assessment of those technical factors that contributed to or retarded the advance of surgery.

Well-illustrated work coving the history of medical and surgical instruments from the Middle Ages to 1870, with emphasis on pre-19th century material. Includes useful information on instrument makers.

Well-chosen readings from original published sources, with informative commentary.

The most comprehensive annotated bibliographies of American surgical literature to 1900. Includes separate bibliographies for general surgery, ophthalmology, oto-rhino-laryngology, orthopedic surgery, gynaecology, urology, colon–rectal surgery, and neurological surgery.

Contains an extensive bibliography.

See No. 3659.1.

Based on material collected by James Rawling Elliott (1905-1958).

First printed edition in the original Greek of the first half of the Tetrabiblion,  issued in Venice by the heirs of Aldus Manutius. In the Tetrabiblion Aetius collected together works of other men which might have been forgotten but for him. Among them are Rufus of Ephesus, Antyllus, Leonides, Soranus, and Philumenus. This work also includes Aetius’s own original work on the treatment of aneurysm by ligation of the brachial artery above the sac. Aetius also left an exhaustive treatise on diseases of the eye. Although he did not describe cataract, he was familiar with 61 different affections of the eye. Most of his work consists of compilations of earlier writers, but he recorded his own observations on ophthalmic therapeutics. Julius Hirschberg translated the section of Aëtius's text on ophthalmology into German, Berlin, 1899. This was translated into English by Richey L. Waugh as The ophthalmology of Aëtius of Amida. Digital facsimile of the 1534 edition from BIUSanté, Paris at this link. The standard Greek edition of books 1-8 is A. Olivieri, Corpus Medicorum Graecorum VIII, 1-2, Berlin, 1935-50. 

The earliest extant systematic textbook of ophthalmology. The Arabs were the first to make a specialty of ophthalmology.

The Tadhkirat al-Kahhalin was one of the oldest and best of the medieval Arabic works on ophthalmology. It carefully described 130 diseases of the eye and became the standard work on the subject in the Middle East. German translation, 1904.

The earliest printed book on ophthalmology. Grassi was the most celebrated ophthalmic surgeon of the Middle Ages. English translation by Casey A. Wood, 1929. ISTC No. ig00352000.

Stroymayr's manuscript was discovered in Lindau in 1909, and remained unpublished until the above edition, which reproduced his drawings in color. Like Bartisch (No. 5817) Stromayr specialized in hernia repair and eye surgery; he was advanced in his concept of hernia. His unique manuscript contains 186 large colored paintings of surgical instruments and procedures. The portrait-like illustrations of eye diseases at the end of this work bear a striking resemblance to the woodcuts in Bartisch. 

In this treatise on ophthalmic surgery Bartisch, who limited his practice to ophthalmology and hernia repair, left the first extensively illustrated account of any surgical specialty. Bartisch was a skilful operator and the first to practice the extirpation of the bulbus in cancer of the eye. The illustrations in his book form a comprehensive pictorial record of Renaissance eye-surgery; some of the woodcuts show the parts of the eye in various layers as they are viewed in dissection by means of movable anatomical flaps. This is one of the earliest uses of movable flaps to illustrate a medical book. Facsimile reprints, Folkstone, 1966, and Hannover, 1983.

A second edition of Bartisch's book, published in reduced format (quarto rather than the small folio of the first edition) was issued in Nuremberg, 1686, suggesting that the science may not advanced much in 100 years. The second edition is scarcer than the first.
English translation of the first edition by Donald L. Blanchard, reproducing all the woodcuts in color from a hand-colored copy, entitled Ophthalmodouleia. That is the service of the eyes (Ostende: Wayenborgh, 1996).

The first French work on ophthalmology. Guillemeau was a pupil and son-in-law of Ambroise Paré; his book was an epitome of the existing knowledge on the subject, chiefly from Greek and Arabian sources. English translation, London, [1587?]. See also No. 5820.

This is the first separate work on ophthalmology printed in England.

Although much of this is a translation of Guillemeau (No. 5818), the first 112 pages are Banister’s own work, “Banister’s Breviary”. He was an itinerant but honest oculist, the first to point out that hardness of the eyeball is an essential diagnostic sign of glaucoma.

The earliest scientific work dealing with spectacles. It includes sight testing tables and points out the value of convex lenses after cataract operations. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

English translation by Paul E. Runge as The use of eyeglasses. Oostende: Wayenborgh, 2004.

Rolfinck was the first to demonstrate the location of cataract in the lens.

Includes the first known description of nyctalopia.

Stahl was the first to treat lacrimal fistula on the basis of correct anatomical understanding. He described his treatment in an addendum to the thesis on eye disease of his student, Lange.

Called “the Father of French ophthalmology”, Maître-Jan energetically supported Brisseau’s doctrine, ensuring its acceptance. As far back as 1692, Maître-Jan had proved that the opaque lens is cataract, but before Brisseau’s work appeared it had been regarded as a sort of skin or pellicle immediately inside the capsule of the lens.

Brisseau was the first to demonstrate the true nature and location of cataract. His book was reprinted in facsimile, 1921.

Lacrimal duct catheterized for the first time. See No. 5823. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

Records the removal of a cataract “en masse” from a living subject. English edition, 1741. Digital facsimile of the 1722 edition from Biu Santé at this link.

The versatile Cheselden made an artificial pupil in an eye in which the products of inflammation had closed or obscured the natural pupil. This iridotomy operation was, next to Daviel’s cataract operation, the most important contribution to ophthalmology during the 18th century.

Daviel originated the modern method of treating cataract by extraction of the lens. By the time he made this official scientific report to the Academy of Surgery, Daviel had already tested his method on 206 cases, with success in 182. See D.B. Weiner, "An 18th century battle for priority: Jacques Daviel (1693-1762) and the extraction of cataracts," J. Hist. Med. All. Sci., 41 (1986) 129-55.

A classic description of nyctalopia. Report of a single case.

First reliable record of color blindness. Written in the form of a letter to Joseph Priestley, who communicated it to the Royal Society. Huddart was a British hydrographer, engineer and inventor.

Haüy founded the first school for the blind. To him belongs the honor of being the first to emboss paper as a means of creating raised type that could be read by the blind. His Essai originated modern methods of teaching and caring for blind persons. English translation by the celebrated blind poet, Thomas Blacklock (1721-91), who lost his sight at the age of 6 months, in Poems by the late Reverend Dr. Thomas Blacklock, together with an essay on the education of the blind. To which is prefixed a new account of the life and writings of the author, Edinburgh, 1793. Digital facsimile of the 1786 edition from BnF Gallica at this link.

The first separate book on ophthalmic surgery.

“This is the first monograph ever published dealing with ocular signs of systemic disease. It deals with lacrimal fistulas, trichiasis, adhesions of the lids, lid ulcers, ephiphora, and ocular inflammations. He illustrates through anecdotal cases the ocular changes caused by smallpox, measles, venereal afflictions, gouty and rheumatic diseases, scrofula, and dietary deficiencies” (D.M. Albert).

First scientific description of color-blindness, or “Daltonism”. Dalton himself suffered from red–green blindness. His paper was read to the Society in 1794.

Himly used hyoscyamine to dilate the pupil to facilitate removal of the lens. (p. 97).

This beautifully illustrated work was the first textbook on the subject to be published in the Italian language. Its author has been called “the father of Italian ophthalmology”. English translation, London, 1806.

Inflammation of the iris was named iritis by Schmidt. In 1801, with Himly, he founded the first journal devoted to ophthalmology, the Ophthalmologische Bibliothek. Digital facsimile of Schmidt's 1801 work from the Internet Archive at this link.

The great military surgeon Larrey served during the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt, where he was the first to observe the contagiousness of trachoma shortly after the successful invasion in 1798. The disease spread to Europe under the name of “military ophthalmia” or “Egyptian ophthalmia”. This pamphlet was printed at Napoleon's press in Cairo, the first printing press established in Egypt. Reprinted in Larrey’s, Rélation historique et chirurgicale de I’expedition de l'Armée d’Orient, Paris, 1803.

Schmidt was Professor of Ophthalmology at Vienna. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

Vetch described trachoma.

Wardrop was the first to classify the various inflammations of the eye according to the structures attacked. He was also the first to use the term “keratitis”.

Langenbeck’s operation of iridencleisis for construction of artificial pupil. He was Professor of Anatomy and Surgery at Göttingen.

Beer is remembered for his textbook; the doctrines in it dominated practice for many years. He described the symptoms of glaucoma and noted the luminosity of the fundus in aniridia. He also presented for the first time the general principles of treating post-traumatic inflammations, including penetrating and perforating injuries as well as injuries to the orbit. He describes the first use of the loupe for the examination of the living eye. The plates in this work were both hand-colored and signed by Beer. He was a distinguished iridectomist. Many of his pupils became famous ophthalmic surgeons. Beer opened the first known eye hospital, in 1786, in Vienna. English translation, Glasgow, 1821.

Includes the first description of glaucoma in which heightened intraocular pressure is recognized, credit for which goes to the author’s father, Pierre Demours (1702-95), whose portrait appears in the atlas in recognition of this. The atlas also contains the first French translation of Soemmerring (No. 1489) with additional plates.

The earliest systematic treatise in English on diseases of the eye. The book became the authority in Europe and America. Travers, a pupil of Sir Astley Cooper, became surgeon to St. Thomas’s Hospital.

First American textbook of ophthalmology by the first American who is believed to have restricted his practice to diseases of the eye. Frick studied under Georg Beer in Vienna.

Guthrie founded the Royal Westminster Ophthalmic Hospital, London, in 1816. He was the earliest teacher of the subject in the British Isles. The above includes important work on the artificial pupil.

Airy, Britain's Astronomer Royal from 1835 to 1881, was the first to devise a sphereocylindrical lens for correcting astigmatism, a condition from which he himself suffered in his left eye. Airy's method is still used today. 

In this book Mackenzie, one of the foremost ophthalmologists of his time, included a classic description of the symptomatology of glaucoma, and was probably the first to draw attention to the increase of intra-ocular pressure as a characteristic of the condition. He introduced the term “asthenopia”, and was the first to describe sympathetic ophthalmia as a distinct disease.

Based on lectures delivered by Lawrence at the London Ophthalmic Infirmary. He was a surgeon to St. Bartholomew’s Hospital; he succeeded Abernethy as lecturer on surgery and did much to advance the surgery of the eye.

Silver nitrate for treatment of gonococcal ophthalmia. Digital facsimile from wellcomecollection.org at this link.

Bigger, a Dublin surgeon, successfully grafted a cornea of one gazelle onto that of another. According to this paper, he first performed this operation in 1835 while he was “a prisoner with a Nomadic tribe of Arabs, about twelve or fourteen days’ journey from Grand Cairo”. By the time this account of his work was published by a “Mr. Swift”, Bigger had not attempted the operation on a human subject. Digital facsimile from the Internet Archive at this link.

Braille, himself blind, modified the system of elevated points first suggested by Charles Barbier in 1820 for enabling the blind to read. In 1837 he added symbols for mathematics and music to his six dot system.

This great color-plate atlas is probably the best summary of the knowledge of diseases of the eye prior to the introduction of the ophthalmoscope.

Carron du Villards taught ophthalmology in Paris; his book is one of the best of the period.

Ferrall’s operation for enucleation of the eyeball (p. 354).

The first successful attempt at treating strabismus by myotomy. The operation was later abandoned owing to the frequently disastrous final effects. A preliminary paper appeared in Med. Ztg., 1839, 8, 227.

Himly was professor of ophthalmology at Jena and later at Göttingen. He introduced clinical teaching in ophthalmology.

Küchler introduced test readings of print at a distance, for examination of patients.

Von Brücke studied the luminosity of the eye in animals, and by passing a tube through a candle flame, was able to see the fundus. See also the same journal, 1847, 225-27.

First description of corneal opacity.

While a student at the London Hospital, Cumming, by shading the eye of a fellow student from the light, was able to look directly into it and obtain both the retinal reflex and the white light from the entrance of the optic nerve. He made the first suggestion for the construction of a device for examining the fundus.

The last important English work on opthalmology published before the invention of the ophthalmoscope. Jones did not appreciate the prototype ophthalmoscope devised by Charles Babbage, and shown to him in 1847. After the success of Helmholtz’s invention (No. 5866) Jones wrote about Babbage’s invention and his role in discouraging it. See No. 5874.

Arlt described granular conjunctivitis (“Arlt’s trachoma”) and an operation for transplantation of the ciliary bulbs in the treatment of distichiasis.

Invention of the ophthalmoscope, one of the greatest events in the history of ophthalmology. English translation by T. H. Shastid, Chicago, Cleveland Press, 1916.

Ruete introduced a practical lens system for examining the inverted image, and improved the illumination, producing the first practical ophthalmoscope.

Bowman devised an operation for the formation of an artificial pupil.

This work and that of Ammon (No. 5852) remain the greatest preophthalmoscopic atlases of ophthalmology.

English translation, 1868.

Trigt's thesis contains the first printed illustrations of the fundus of the eye. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link. The following year Trigt's thesis was translated into German by C. H. Schauenberg as Der Augenspiegel : seine Anwendung und Modificationen : nebst Beiträgen zur Diagnostik innerer Augenkrankheiten (Lahr: J. H. Geiger (M. Schauenburg), 1854). Digital facsimile of the 1854 edition from the Internet Archive at this link.

Türck was the first to note the correlation of retinal hemorrhage with tumors of the brain.

Graefe introduced iridectomy in the treatment of iritis and iridochoroiditis.

Jones reported that Charles Babbage (1792-1871), the computer pioneer, had produced a simple ophthalmoscope in 1847. After the success of Helmholtz’s instrument in 1851 (No. 5866) Jones wrote about Babbage’s instrument and of his role in discouraging it. See No. 5862.

First account of metastatic ophthalmia.

Description of trachoma.

Liebreich introduced lateral illumination in microscopic investigation of the living eye.

The second and third papers are entitled “On the treatment of iritis without mercury”.

Graefe’s operation for strabismus.

Iridectomy for the treatment of glaucoma was introduced by Graefe.

Discovery of embolism of the retinal artery as a cause of sudden blindness.

Alfred Carl Graefe, cousin of Albrecht, made a careful clinical analysis of disordered movements of the eye. He also invented a special “localization ophthalmoscope”, and, with Saemisch, edited the great Handbuch der gesamten Augenheilkunde (see No. 5944).

Knapp wrote valuable monographs on curvature of the cornea (above) and on intraocular tumours (see No. 5902). He became one of the leading ophthalmologists in America.

Graefe showed that most cases of blindness and impaired vision connected with cerebral disorders are a result of optic neuritis rather than of paralysis of the optic nerve.

Jaeger first introduced his test types in 1854; Emil Fuchs improved them in 1895.

Includes statement of “Donders’s law” – the rotation of the eye around the line of sight is not voluntary. French and German translations, 1862.

Snellen’s test-types (“Optotypi”) which soon gained acceptance in all civilized countries. Digital facsimile from Google Books at this link.

Jacobson used a peripheral incision in his operation for cataract.

First atlas of the fundus. The author was an assistant to Helmholtz at the time of the invention of the ophthalmoscope. The work is illustrated with reproductions of his own paintings. Text in French and German. English translation by M. R. Swanzy, 1870 and 1884. Leibreich became ophthalmic surgeon to St. Thomas’s Hospital, London.

Donders’s greatest work, the basis for all succeeding studies of the subject, and a classic of physiological optics. It contains Donders’s explanation of astigmatism, his definition of aphakia and hypermetropia, his sharp distinctions between myopia and hypermetropia, etc. This English translation from the Dutch is the first published edition.

Agnew devised an operation for the treatment of divergent squint.

A method of suturing the flap after cataract extraction was introduced by Williams.

Extraction of the lens in the closed capsule through a scleral incision, for the treatment of cataract.

Graefe’s improvement of the operation for cataract by the modified linear extraction reduced the incidence of eye loss from 10 to 2.3 per cent.

A classic contribution to the literature of sympathetic ophthalmia.

The first thorough account of paralysis of the eye muscles, and the basis for their surgical treatment. The first section describes conditions resulting from injuries to the eye muscles. The second part outlines physiologic laws governing eye movements and the effects of impaired function in each of the ocular muscles.