American Orthoptic Journal 2002, vol.52, 124
The History of Strabismology is volume nine in the History of
Ophthalmology series edited by Julius Hirschberg.
A total of 21 volumes are anticipated with five more listed as "in
preparation." The first eight volumes include such topics as "The Eye
and Man in Ancient Egypt," "The Ophthalmoscope," "Ophthalmology of the
Ancients," etc. Those "in preparation" include one by Dr. Eugene
Helveston on "The Treatment of Strabismus" said to be due in 2003.
I had not been familiar with these volumes before receiving the current
History of Strabismology but hope to learn more about them, and I look
forward to the volume on strabismus treatment. In order to cover the topic of strabismology and its history, Dr. von
Noorden has enlisted contributors from around the world and asked them
to write about the history of strabismology as it relates to their part
of the world. So, for example, Joseph Lang authors the chapter on "The
History of European Strabismology" and Dr. Shinobu Awaya and Yoshimasa
Watanabe author "The History of Strabismology in Japan." Gillian
Roper-Hall, D.O.B.(T.), C.O. was asked to write the chapter on "The
History of Orthoptics: A World View." The other chapters include
historical discussions of strabismology ... From its Beginnings to the
Middle of the 19th Century, (Hans Remky), in the United States (Eugene
Helveston), Mex ico (Alberto Brown-Limon and Emma Limon de Brown), South
America (Henderson Almeida and Geraldo de Barros Ribeiro), and Australia
and New Zealand (William E. Gilles). Each of the chapters dealing with a
specific area of the world has a wealth of information about the people
and their contributions to our knowledge in this field. The history of
the various organizations that are devoted to strabismus are also
included in each area. The history leading to the formation of the
European Strabismus Association (ESA), the International Strabismus
Association (ISA), the American Orthoptic Council (AOC), the American
Association of Certified Orthoptists (AACO), and the American
Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPO&S) are all
detailed. A significant effort was obviously made by the authors to find
photographs or illustrations of the important contributors to the field.
I found the book to be fascinating and a "good read." I imagine it will
be of greatest interest to the older members who will undoubtedly
remember many of the people that are referenced, but it should also be
of interest to our younger colleagues who will want to know more about
their heritage in strabismology.
Dr. von Noorden and his coauthors should be congratulated on their
contribution to our specialty!
TDF
British Journalof Ophthalmology, 518
For those who specialise in the treatment of ocular motility
disorders, it seems at times as though time has stood still. Compared with
the technical and surgical innovations that have characterised the modern
history of the treatment of cornea and retinal diseases, strabismologists
have continued to use techniques and instruments devised in the mid-
19th century. However, after reading von Noorden’s The History of
Strabismology, it becomes clear that the history of our specialtyhas been
characterised by physicians and scientists possessing remarkable creativity
and intellect striving to understand how the eyes move and the brain sees.
The History of Strabismology is the ninth volume of The
History of Ophthalmology, a planned 21 volume series of monographs intending
to comprehensively review the history of ophthalmology from ancient times to
the current day. The author has chosen to review the history of
strabismology not with a traditional "art through the ages" chronological
approach, but rather from a geocentric approach. By enlisting prominent
strabismologists from around the world as contributing authors, von Noorden
allows the reader to discover how the discipline and practice of
strabismology developed and evolved not just in Europe and the United
States, but in countries and regions such as Mexico, Japan, South America,
and Australia. In thoroughly researched and referenced chapters, the authors
describe, time and again, how an ophthalmologist visiting Europe learns a
technique, returns to his or her country, refines the technique and applies
it to the patient population unique to his or her country. We learn of
scoundrels and rogues who foist themselves on the public as miracle workers,
only to be publicly exposed and discredited by ethical ophthalmologists of
the day (lessons we could stand to relearn now again in the 21st century).
We learn that aesthetic ideals are relative to time and place; such as the
fact that in pre-Columbian times a slight degree of esotropia was found to
be attractive and convergence was stimulated in infants by attaching a ball
of beeswax to the child’s hair to be left dangling between the eyes (vision
therapy at its birth).
An often neglected but historically important discipline
within the field of strabismus is the practice of orthoptics. In a carefully
researched and beautifully illustrated chapter, section author Roper-Hall
outlines the origins of the specialty and introduces us to the pioneering
women and men who selflessly served, taught, and discovered in the clinics
of the more famous titans of strabismology. Throughout the book, von Noorden
takes pains to illuminate the lives and contributions of both major and
minor players in the history of strabismus. The reader cannot help but see
how the advancement of science in a discipline is dependent upon the close
collaboration that takes place between mentor and student, doctor and
patient, and clinician and scientist.
As with all the monographs in this series, the volume
contains extensive illustrations, photographs and reproductions. Portraits
and photographs of innovators in the field of strabismology flesh out the
names we associate with instruments and techniques. Each section author
provides numerous references of seminal papers on strabismus published from
the corners of the globe. It is refreshing to see a book on history
recognise the contributions from those outside the traditional medical
centres of Europe/United Kingdom and the United States.
This book will be a valuable reference for all those who
specialise in the area of strabismus and those interested in the history of
ophthalmology. The illustrations and historical references will greatly
enhance the quality of lectures on the topic of strabismus. Knowledge of the
origins of critical thought and technical innovation concerning the
aetiology and treatment of strabismus will stimulate further interest in
today’s students of ophthalmology. Finally, the knowledge that the pioneers
of ophthalmology—von Graefe, Muller, Donders, and Helmholtz—placed the study
and treatment of strabismus at an equal level of importance as the treatment
of diseases of the lens, cornea, and retina servesnotice to contemporary
vision scientists and ophthalmologists not to neglect this most challenging
discipline of ophthalmology—strabismus.
D.R. Fredrick |
