Sabine Fahrenbach (Leipzig):
On “Bloodletting by Heurteloup’s Apparatus”

Still the early 20th in ophthalmology bloodletting was an often applied therapeutic. There were alive and artificial bloodsuckers, such like the Heurteloup apparatus. About this leech and the indications for its appliance will be spoken.

Dr. phil. Sabine Fahrenbach, Karl-Sudhoff-Inst. für Geschichte der Medizin und Naturwissenschaften der Univ. Leipzig, Käthe-Kollwitz-Straße 82, D-04109 Leipzig

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Robert Heitz (Strasbourg)
The First Fitting of Gas-permeable Contact Lenses in Halle a. Saale

In the years 1918–1923, the engineer Albert Wiegand (1882–1932) and the Zeiss Firm granted patents for a manufacturing process of “Contact Spectacles made of Celluloid“. Wilhelm von Clausen (1878–1961) carried out the clinical trials of these first gas-permeable contact lenses at the Halle University Eye Clinic.

Dr. med. Dr. phil. Robert Heitz, 23 A, rue Trubner, F-67000 Strasbourg

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Aloys Henning
17th Century Noble Oculists from Geldern in Saxony and Berlin

In April 2006 an inquiry on genealogy made a family of medieval high nobility from Zutphen in Geldern enter into history of medicine. By Duke Alba’s opression of the Netherlands (Zutphen 1772) von Sütphens had settled as Protestant refugees at Saxon Herzberg on Schwarze Elster. Through 100 years up to 1573 the family of Sütphen has educated at least 14 oculists, nine of them bearing its name; three with other names have married into the family. For the history of ophthalmology in Saxony and Brandenburg they close the gap between Georg Bartisch (1535–1607), beginning with Tobias Bartisch at Dresden, whose imperial privilege came to light as prototype of the Sütphens’
ones, and Johann Andreas Eisenbarth (1668–1727). Von Sütphens’ privileges from Vienna justify their and Bartisch’s predecessor Heinrich Vogtherr the elder (1490–1556), artist (painter, engraver, publisher) and personal oculist of King Ferdinan the 1st of Vienna since 1550. Vogtherr was discriminated as quack by Julius Hirschberg, who did not respect practical ophthalmological education at the time. Eisenbarth as travelling surgeon characterizes the era, when privileges of travelling surgeons and regulations for settled ones were substituted by approbations, enacted by state, so by the Prussian Medicinaledict in 1718. They substituted later on barber-surgeons’ master degrees. Surgeons’ traditional privileges were still acknowledged. Travelling oculists of the 18th century like Joseph Hillmer and John Taylor, known also as charlatans, did never get such privileges. Especially Taylor with his collection of titles is to be seen as historical relic, while new medical orders were introduced, pertaining whole countries.

Dr. med. Aloys Henning, Spandauer Straße 104 K, D-13591 Berlin

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Jutta Herde (Halle):
One Hundred and Fifty Years of Ptosis Surgery

The drooping of the upper lid – Phalangosis, Prolapsus palpebrarum superiorum, Atonia palpebralis, Blepharoptosis, Ptosis – has been known in the Middle Ages and to the ancient Arabian surgeons too. Bartisch, Fabricius ab Aquapendente, Scultetus, Boerhaave and others recommended the upward holding of the lid manually, by sutures, sticking plasters or  by specials clamps. Boerhaave believed the reason of the ptosis to be more a weakness than a palsy. The unknown reasons of this disease with the exception of eye lid diseases (tumours, bleedings, and proliferation of tissue, oedema, and faulty excitation of the elevator muscle) let understand the missing of an useful ptosis treament. The clamp was a ring or plate made from horn and rectangularly attached to the spectacle frame. The first thesis on ptosis was written by Oettinger in 1771.
The first ptosis correction occurred by resecting skin. A v. Graefe has excided skin and tissue of the underlying orbicular muscle intending to shorten it. His own unsuccessful trial to excide the delicate levator muscle stimulated him to propose this surgical technique. Skin excisions are still recommended for patients suffering from proceeding muscles’ diseases.
At first W. Bowman introduced shortening of the levator muscle on the posterior as well as on the anterior approach in 1857.
O. Eversbusch is credited with the first anterior approach to ptosis surgery in 1883. Since these first reports on ptosis operations many modifications of the levator muscle surgical techniques have been described (Wolff 1896, v. Blaskovics 1909, Agatson 1942, Berke 1952, 1959, Iliff 1954, Putterman and Urist 1979 a.u.).
The second fundamental surgical type of ptosis operation, the frontal sling, Dransart introduced in 1880. He used non absorbable sutures for the frontal suspension. The numbers and kinds of sutures, the manner of its placing, using various materials for the suspension – skin flaps (Panas 1886), orbicularis muscle strips (Reese 1924), Fascia lata (Payr 1909, Wright 1922, Derby 1928, Crawford 1956), Collagen strips (Iliff 1962), Silicon bands or tubes (Tillett/Tillett 1966, Callahan 1972) and sclera strips (Bodian 1968) have  been changed several times.
The tarsectomy, another type of surgical technique, combined with resection of the Müller muscle for the ptosis repair was described by P.I. Gillet de Grandmont in 1891. Stallard has used tarsectomy for the correction of ptosis secondary to trachoma in 1911. The tarsectomy was modified by numerous surgeons (Gruening 1902, Marple 1903, v. Blaskovics 1909, Hervouet and Tessier 1956, Fasanella - Servat 1961, Iliff 1976) The Fasanella - Servat method was popularised by Beard with recommendation for quantitative approach to ptosis surgery.
Restivo - Manfridi and Valvo were employed with the full-thickness lid resection in 1966. Mc Cord (1975) and Mustardé (1975) reported on a similar operation for ptosis with a good levator function, Motais and Parinaud (1897) described operations utilizing the superior rectus muscle. Different variations were made by Kirby (1928), Dickey (1936), and Weeler (1939), Ellis (1943), Berke (1949), Trainor (1975).
The modern ptosis surgery has allowed the development of more physiologic anterior approaches and the outlining of quantitative guidelines as well as the early adjustment of the ptosis surgery by Beard (1966), Jordan and Anderson (1987), Mc Cord (1975), Baylis and Norman (1977), Collin (1989, 1994), Boergen (1993), Putterman and Urist (1975) a.o.
The history of ptosis surgery is to a large extent a story of idea, trial, enthusiasm, waning enthusiasm and discouragement (Beard 1966).

Prof. Dr. med. Jutta Herde, Univ.-Augenklinik, Ernst-Grube-Straße 50, D-06120 Halle

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Jutta Herde (Halle):
On Fates of Famous Ophthalmologists

The precious aim of each ophthalmologist to preserve the visual functions of all patients is not always to achieve. Unfortunately several famous ophthalmologists suffered from a hard lot. Even Albrecht von Graefe’s daughter Olga became gradually blind.
Karl Himly (1772–1837), having introduced the term Opthalmology in 1800, had studied medicine in Braunschweig and Göttingen, where he became professor in 1795. In 1801 the chair at Jena university was offered to him. Five years later he returned to the university at Göttingen. Himly published together with Johann Adam Schmidt the first professional journal “Ophthalmologische Bibliothek”. Himly had some disagreements with his colleague K.J. Martin Langenbeck. He tried to commit suicide on the river Leine in 1837.
Alexander Pagenstecher (1828–1879), one of A. v. Graefe’s disciples, established a private eye hospital at Wiesbaden. Many disciples of him have become leaders at other hospitals. Repeated suffering from lung disease caused him to go hunting. His brother H. Pagenstecher operated him on glaucoma attack of the right eye successfully. Alexander Pagenstecher died on hunting gunshot wounds in 1879, two days after the injury.
Emile Javal (1839–1907) has studied at first mining engineering. To help his favorite sister, suffering from a terrible squint, he also studied medicine. Already as a student he wrote and published papers on strabism, refraction and ophthalmic physiology. He has got a laboratory at the Sorbonne in Paris. Here he developed the Ophthalmometer, having been supported by H. Schiötz. Emile Javal got blind by an acute glaucoma attack on his right eye in 1885 and on his left one in1899 too. Looking ahead he has organized his life for going blind.
Anton Elschnig (1862–1939) was born in Austrian Styria. He studied medicine at the university in Graz. Elschnig was specialized in ophthalmology and qualified to lecture at Graz university too. 1900 he moved to Vienna and got the chair of ophthalmology. In 1907 he was appointed the chairman of ophthalmology at Prague university. Twenty and six years he performed the teaching assignment as well as the chairmanship of the eye hospital at the university. After retiring in 1933 he choosed Marienbad as place of old-age residence. Visiting Vienna again he was run over by a car when crossing a street, and died in 1939.
Oswald Marchesani (1900–1952) was born in the south of Tyrol. Very often he came back to his home country in summer as well as in winter time. He has got education and specialisation in Innsbruck and Munich. In 1935 he got the lectorship for ophthalmology at the Muenster university, and 1945 at the university in Hamburg. At the age of fifty and one year he died of Periarteriitis nodosa.
Robert Siebeck (1921–1970) was born at Heidelberg. After the studies and specializing training in ophthalmology at his home town university he moved to the university in Cologne and further to the university at Erlangen. 1967 he got the chair of ophthalmology at the university in Bonn. His special fields of interest has been the opthalmological physiology, the physical and optical basic research. Driving home from the eye hospital at 25th of October in 1970 he was killed by an accident.

Prof. Dr. med. Jutta Herde, Univ.-Augenklinik, Ernst-Grube-Straße 50, D-06120 Halle

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Gerhard Holland (Kiel):
The Ophthalmologist Hugo Magnus – the British Statesman William Gladstone and the Colour Sense

Hundred years ago Hugo Magnus, ophthalmologist, medical historian and writer died in Breslau. In a short obituary in “Zentralblatt der Augenheilkunde” Julius Hirschberg says, that among the numerous works of Magnus there are disputable, good and excellent works. The treatise “Die Geschichtliche Entwicklung des Farbensinnes” is counted among the disputable works. But even by this work Magnus became known in Europe at that time. The theory of Magnus was, that the recognition of colour in humankind developed slowly from none to full perception and he used arguments from linguistic science. Magnus has cited in his work the well known British statesman W. E. Gladstone, who 1858 in his “Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age” analysed the colour perception in the time of Homer by using the colour vocabulary of the Odyssey and Iliad and he came to a similar result as Magnus: The colour sense of the Greeks at that time was but partially developed. Magnus wrote to Gladstone sending him a copy of his work. As a result Gladstone now published an own work entitled “The Colour-Sense”, sent a copy to Magnus, which in 1878 was translated into German. The correspondence between Magnus and Gladstone lasted three years. But their theory was not accepted, yet not at all forgotten. In 1999 Elizabeth Henry Bellmer published in “Annals of Science” a longer work about this topic. She reviews the publications of Magnus and Gladstone concerning the colour sense, mentions their correspondence and reviews the works of many authors who did not accept the theory of Magnus and Gladstone. At the end she says: The theory of Magnus and Gladstone and the response to it embodied one small unit of the Darwinian debate.

Prof. Dr. med. Gerhard Holland, Esmarchstraße 51, D-24105 Kiel

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Gerhard Keerl (Düsseldorf):
Carl von Linné, “Princeps botanicorum” – but also Medical Practioner and Medical Teacher at the University of Uppsala

The first known description of the macula lutea is by Buzzi in 1782 followed 10 years later by a publication from Soemmering. Drusen are one of the main characteristics of ageing macular degeneration and drusen were first described by Donders as colloid bodies and by Mueller as drusen in 1854. The first mention of ageing degeneration of the macula was in 1874 by Hutchinson: "Symmetrical central choroido-retinal disease occurring in senile persons." The major hypotheses about the etiology of ageing macular disease as expressed in its subsequent names, from that time on, will be demonstrated.

Dr. med. Gerhard Keerl, Droste-Hülshoffstraße 2, D-40474 Düsseldorf

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Guido Kluxen:
“The Mosquito Man”: The Cuban Doctor Carlos Juan Finlay (1833-1915)

The great work of Carlos Juan Finlay may be expressed in very few words: He discovered the fact that yellow fever is transmitted by the bite of one species of mosquito, and he invented a sure method for the extinction of the disease. But in 1881 and later on, he was ridiculed by his associates as “The Mosquito Man”. He was a general practitioner but specialised in ophthalmology, practising in Havana since 1857. His work, carried out during the 1870s finally came to prominence in 1900. He was the first to theorize in 1881 that a mosquito was the way by which yellow fever was transmitted; a mosquito that bites a victim of the disease could bite a healthy person and spread the disease. A year later he identified the organism causing yellow fever to be the genus and species Aëdes aegypti. Relatively few men were killed in action during the brief Spanish-American War of 1898 in Cuba. But over 5.000 soldiers died of disease. Yellow fever was the most feared of the many diseases that swept through the American camps: its mortality rate was known to reach 85 percent. In 1900, the yellow fever germ was still a mystery for the U.S. Army. So the U.S. Army Yellow Fever Commission (often called simply “The Reed Commission” after its leader, Walter Reed) was formed with the hope of ending the scientific debate on the cause and spread of yellow fever. This started with two theories: Fomites or Aëdes? At experimental stations just outside Havana, Walter Reed and his assistants James Caroll, Aristides Agramonte, and Jesse Lazear proved that Aëdes aegypti mosquito was the vector for the yellow fever virus. Their work destroyed the popular notion that yellow fever spread by direct contact with infected people or contaminated objects and focused the people’s efforts on the eradication of the Aëdes mosquito. After the brilliant confirmation of Finlay’s investigations by “The Reed Commission” of the mosquito transmission of yellow fever, Finlay’s views were universally accepted. Circumstances changed and high honours were conferred on him, but the brilliancy of the confirmation led many, especially in the United States, to grant to “The Reed Commission” the sole merit of the discovery and to ignore almost completely Finlay’s prior scientific and experimental work.

Prof. Dr. med. Guido Kluxen, Brückenweg 1, D-42929 Wermelskirrchen

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Peter Kober (Schwelm):
A Blessing for his Patients (and his Town):
Friedrich Hermann de Leuw ( 1792 – 1861)

Friedrich Hermann de Leuw was a “second grade” surgeon from Dinslaken, a town on the lower Rhine. He worked as a “Feldscher” (army surgeon) during the Napoleonic wars in different armys. In 1814 he opened a surgery in Gräfrath, at the edge of the Bergische Land  (some miles east of Düsseldorf).
His main interest was the treatment of eye diseases, and he acquired an almost legendary reputation far beyond Germany´s borders and particulary in England. With the scientific medical knowledge base still being low and surgical options very few, his success and his reputation must have had to do more with the personality than with his actual treatment outcomes.
His activity was an economic blessing for his town – Gräfrath. Yet, because he always remained just a low surgeon he could only acquire the title of medical doctor outside of Prussia. While he was showered with honorary titles and decorations, he did not leave behind any written theoretical  or practical account of his work.
He acted, with surprising success, in the grey area between scientific medicine and charlatanery.

Dr. med. Peter Kober, Kirchstraße 2, D-58332 Schwelm

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Frank Krogmann (Thüngersheim):
Heinrich Adelmann (1817–1884) and his Ophthalmopathological Paintings

Heinrich Adelmann was teaching almost only ophthalmology before the foundation of the university eye-hospital Wuerzburg.
From Adelmann’s heritage the Wuerzburg university eye hospital obtains a book with 228 by him self made anatomical paintings of the front eye. Most of the paintings were made 1835–1837, so far dated.
According to Adelmann’s testament the book was given after his death to the university eye hospital. The book was digitalized in 2006. The digitalized version is of highest quality – some of the paintings will be presented in the lecture.

Frank Krogmann, Kirchgasse 6, D-97291 Thüngersheim

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Dieter Schmidt (Freiburg):
Alfred Huber (1918–2006)

Alfred Huber passed away last year. He was one of of the most influential ophthalmologists of international reputation of the last century. A mentor to many, he was held in high esteem by friends and colleagues alike for his erudition, but also for his kindnes, modesty, and congeniality. He is considered the father of neuro-ophthalmology in Switzerland. Alfred Huber was well-liked internationally, and in the U.S.A. they affectionately called him “Uncle Freddy”.
Alfred Huber was an outstanding authority and teacher in ophthalmology whose books and articles will continue to inform and inspire. He graduated from the University of Zürich in 1943 under Professor Alfred Vogt and was later resident and medical director under Professor Marc Amsler. Together with Sir Stewart Duke-Elder, he worked at the Institute of Ophthalmology in 1949 in London, and from 1950-51 in the Department of Neurosurgery in Zürich under Professor Hugo Krayenbühl. He was awarded his “Habilitation” in 1954 with a thesis on “Eye signs and symptoms in brain tumors”. He was awarded a full professorship in 1963, and continued to care for patients and act as a consultant well into old age.
Alfred Huber was one of the editors of the German ophthalmological journal Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde, and the founding editor of  Neuro-Ophthalmology. As secretary of the Swiss Ophthalmological Society, he played a key role in organizing the congresses in Switzerland.
In 1976, Alfred Huber founded in conjunction with the Belgian Professor Adolph Neetens and Professor Tom Hedges from the USA, the INOS (International Neuro-Ophthalmological Society), and in 1993 in Zürich, the EUNOS (European Neuro-Ophthalmological Society). Alfred Huber was an enthusiastic participant and lecturer at all congresses until the end.
Alfred Huber was a frequent guest speaker at congresses in the U.S.A., Canada, Japan, and in Europe. He was awarded the “Franceschetti-Liebrecht Prize” from the German Ophthalmological Society in 1968, and four years later the “Alfred-Vogt Award” from the Swiss Ophthalmological Society.

Prof. Dr. med. Dieter Schmidt, Univ.-Augenklinik, Killianstraße 5, D-79106 Freiburg

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Gottfried Vesper (Leipzig):
About Anton Graff (1736–1813)

Anton Graff, a Swiss artist from Winterthur, comes to Germany. He becomes in Dresden a very important court artist, speciality portrait painter. Possibly operation of the catarct is 1803. In his later years almost complete blindness.

SR Dr. med. Gottfried Vesper, Harnackstraße 9, D-04317 Leipzig

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