Sibylle Katharina Scholtz

Universität des Saarlandes / Homburg · Institute of Experimental Ophthalmology

Zu ihrer XXXVII. Zusammenkunft lud die Julius-Hirschberg-Gesellschaft vom 6. bis 8. Oktober in Österreichs zweitgrößte Stadt Graz. Der wissenschaftliche Teil am Samstag wie auch die Mitgliederversammlung wurden als Hybrid-Veranstaltung ausgerichtet. Wie üblich, trafen sich auch dieses Jahr die Teilnehmer der Präsenzveranstaltung bereits am Freitagn...

Purpose: The new "Lens Power Calculation Module" (LPCM) for calculation of toric and non-toric intraocular lenses is based on the CASTROP formula and is available as online calculation tool via IOLCon´s website. Hereby, modern online IOL power calculation support is provided for ophthalmic surgeons. Results: The CASTROP vergence formula is based o...

Purpose: Murphy´s Law stated “If anything can go wrong, it will”. This also holds true when calculating intraocular lenses (IOL) – and also here, the options are manifold, partly systemic and pre-programmed. Such errors will be introduced briefly followed by detailed information on the benefits of using optimized IOL constants, preferably individua...

Purpose: Murphy´s Law stated “If anything can go wrong, it will”. This also holds true when calculating intraocular lenses (IOL) – and also here, the options are manifold, partly systemic and pre-programmed. Such errors will be introduced briefly followed by detailed information on the benefits of using optimized IOL constants, preferably individua...

Purpose Why is northern Germany mostly Protestant while southern Germany predominantly Catholic? Was it because the Protestant King of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden was unable to continue his triumphent march to the South during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). And what has all this to do with a pair of glasses? Results Gustav II Adolf (15...

Abstract: Purpose To be crossed eyed is a wide-spread dysfunction of the eye. Usually squinting is regarded as unattractive. In ancient times societies saw squinting as a sign of piety or even beauty. Even Venus was depicted heterophoric quite often. The most famous artist who was crossed eyed was Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (*08.02.1591; †22.12.16...

Purpose: Murphy´s Law, postulated in 1949, stated “If anything can go wrong, it will”. This also holds true when calculating intraocular lenses (IOL) – and also here, were the options are manifold, partly systemic and pre-programmed. Methods: Close cooperation with the Institute of Experimental Ophthalmology, University Homburg/Saar (Germany). Re...

Myopia might have killed him: Gustv II Adolf, Kind of Sweden Purpose Why is northern Germany mostly Protestant while southern Germany predominantly Catholic? Was it because the Protestant King of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden was unable to continue his triumphent march to the South during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). And what has all t...

A quick look at (un)avoidable errors in biometry – and some ideas how to overcome them! Purpose: Murphy´s Law stated “If anything can go wrong, it will”. This also holds true when calculating intraocular lenses (IOL) – and also here, the options are manifold, partly systemic and pre-programmed. Such errors will be introduced briefly followed by de...

Hearing, not seeing, is believing: On the invention of thoracic percussion by Leopold Auenbrugger Purpose: Leopold Auenbrugger invented and introduced the technique of thorax percussion as a diagnostic tool in medicine in 1761. Together with Laënnec´s stethoscope the era of scientific anatomic diagnosis in medicine finally began. Methods: Histo...

A feast for the eyes, not only beautiful and toxic, but also conducive to health: the “California Poppy” Purpose: In 1903, it became the official state flower of California, and in 2016 was nominated as Poisonous Plant of the Year: Eschscholzia californica, the “California Poppy”. The German nickname, Schlafmützchen, translates to “nightcap”, a g...

Look into my eyes… 30 years ago: The first publication of an OCT picture of the fundus of a living human eye Purpose: Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is today regarded as the standard diagnostic technique in various sub-disciplines in ophthalmology. In 1990, by using white-light interferometry, Professor Adolf Friedrich Fercher (1939–2017) dev...

Sie sind aus der Berechnung von Intraokularlinsen heute nicht mehr wegzudenken, weil sie das refrakti-ve Ergebnis nach der Katarakt-OP wesentlich verbessern können: optimierte IOL-Kontanten. Die 2017 gegründete Internet-Datenbank IOLCon hat sich inzwischen als weltweit verfügbare, zuverlässige Quelle für optimierte IOL-Konstanten und -Spezifikation...

Am 7. und 8. Juli fand in Lviv (Lemberg) die Konferenz der ukrainischen Netzhautspezialisten „Retina Lviv 2023“ statt. Ungeachtet des Krieges trafen sich ukrainische und internationale Augenärzte zu der hybriden Fortbildung, deren Industrieausstellung Vertretern aus Klinik, Praxis und Wirtschaft einen Austausch bot. Ganz im Fokus dieses im Zweijahr...

Citation: Sibylle Scholtz., et al. "Two Years of Cruelty: Ophthalmological Training in a State of Emergency". EC Ophthalmology 14.8 (2023): 01-05. Lviv is a city in Ukraine, near the Polish border. It is known for its rich culture, architecture and long history. On July 7-8, a conference of Ukrainian retina specialists, "Retina Lviv 2023", took pla...

Lviv ist eine Stadt in der Ukraine und liegt im Westen des Landes nahe der polnischen Grenze. Die Stadt ist für ihre reiche Kultur, Architektur und Geschichte bekannt. Am 7. und 8. Juli fand in Lviv, früher Lemberg, die Konferenz der ukrainischen Netzhautspezialisten „Retina Lviv 2023“ statt. Nur zwei Tage vor diesem Kongress griff das russische Mi...

Title: (Un)avoidable Errors in Biometry Purpose: Murphy´s Law, postulated in 1949, stated “If anything can go wrong, it will”. This also holds true when calculating intraocular lenses (IOL) – and also here, were the options are manifold, partly systemic and pre-programmed. Methods: Close cooperation with the Institute of Experimental Ophthalmolog...

Title: Dame Ida Mann: The Prototypical Modern Woman. Purpose Dr. Ida Mann (6. February 1893, London (UK) – 18 November 1983, Perth (Australia) was the pre-eminent ophthalmologist of her era. Her career is reviewed in the context of the evolution of attitudes and practices in modern society. Methods Selective literature search in books and journal...

Title: IOL power calculation on its next level – the “LPCM” based on modern CASTROP formula Purpose: The new "Lens Power Calculation Module" (LPCM) for calculation of toric and non-toric intraocular lenses is based on the CASTROP formula and is available as online calculation tool via IOLCon´s website. Hereby, modern online IOL power calculation s...

Objective: The aim: Determination of vitamin D level and its connection with visual functions in patients with age-related macular degeneration, dry form. Patients and methods: Materials and methods: We analyzed the data of studies (25(OH)D3 levels (nmol/l), LogMAR visual acuity and Logarithmic contrast sensitivity) of 2 groups of women of postm...

Ein schrecklich grausamer Guten-Morgen-Gruß überzog am 23. November 2022 die Ukraine: Mit dem Luftalarm zusammen legte sich ein schmerzhafter Teppich aus Bombenhagel über das Land, beginnend in den östlichen Gebieten, wenig später auch in der Hauptstadt. Die Ukraine wurde von 70 feindlichen Raketen angegriffen, 31 davon zielten auf Kiew. Die meiste...

IOLCon not only offers users an overview of the ever expanding range of intraocular lenses (IOLs), but also of their essential parameters and specifications. Above all, optimized IOL constants which are provided and updated according to modern algorithms and standards. IOL constants link the biometric measurements to the expected axial lens positio...

Joseph Jastrow (30. Januar 1863 – 8. Januar 1944) war ein polnisch-amerikanischer Psychologe und ist bekannt für Erfindungen der experimentellen Psychologie und Psychophysik. Unter anderem beschäftigte er sich mit optischen Täuschungen. Eine Reihe bekannter optischer Täuschungen (z.B. die „Jastrow-Illusion“ oder die „Hase-Ente-Illusion“) wurden dur...

Die 2017 gegründete Internet-Datenbank IOLCon hat sich als weltweit verfügbare und zuverlässige Quelle für optimierte IOL-Konstanten und -Spezifikationen etabliert. Basierend auf zeitgemäßen Opti-mierungsstrategien stellt IOLCon auch individuell optimierte IOL-Konstanten Ophthalmo-Chirurgen kostenfrei zur Verfügung. Seit kurzem unterstützt IOLCon m...

Leider mussten wir kürzlich vom Tod unseres höchst geschätzten Mitglieds, Dr. med. Dr. phil. Robert Ferdinand Heitz erfahren. Dr. Heitz wurde 1932 in Haguenau im Elsass geboren. Sein Medizinstudium absolvierte er in Straßburg. Dort erhielt er auch seine ophthalmologische Ausbildung bei Prof. Jean Nordmann. Er promovierte 1960 mit seiner Arbeit...

Sie sind aus der Berechnung von Intraokularlinsen heute nicht mehr wegzudenken, weil sie das refraktive Ergebnis nach der Katarakt-OP wesentlich verbessern können: optimierte IOL-Konstanten. Die 2017 gegründete Internet-Datenbank IOLCon hat sich inzwischen als welt�weit verfügbare, zuverlässige Quelle für optimierte IOL-Konstanten und -Spezifikatio...

Trotz aller Ungewissheiten und den sich nahezu ständig ändernden Rahmenbedingungen wagte die JULIUS-HIRSCHBERG-GESELLSCHAFT im dritten Jahr der COVID-Pandemie den mutigen Schritt, ihren Jahreskongress wieder als reinen Präsenz-Kongress durchzuführen. Bereits 2005 tagte die Gesellschaft im fränkischen Würzburg. Die stilvolle Stadt am Main, bekannt f...

On February 24, 2022, the world woke up to new realities. Russia had launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine along the entire border. The war, which had already lasted eight years, had entered a new phase. The largest military conflict since the Second World War in the very center of Europe changed the lives not only of Ukrainians, but of all Eu...

Title: IOL power calculation on its next level – the “LPCM” based on modern CASTROP formula Purpose: The new "Lens Power Calculation Module" (LPCM) for calculation of toric and non-toric intraocular lenses is based on the CASTROP formula and is available as online calculation tool via IOLCon´s website. Hereby, modern online IOL power calculation s...

Organisiert von der „Ukrainischen Allianz der Augenärzte“ fand am 25. und 26. November in der Hauptstadt der Ukraine der „OphthalmicHUB“ als hybrider Kongress mit internationaler Beteiligung statt. Etwa 200 Augenärzte nahmen persönlich am Kongress in Kiew teil, rund 1.000 online. Das breite wissenschaftliche Programm wurde durch mehr als 80 Vorträg...

Prof. Dr. Baldur P. Gloor ist uns als Schweizer Ophthalmologe und ehemaliger Vorsteher der Universitäts-Augenklinik Basel, sowie früherer Direktor der Universitäts-Augenklinik Zürich bekannt. Mit seiner umfassenden Autobiografhie lässt uns Baldur (der eigentlich und lieber „Balder“ genannt werden möchte) Gloor auf knapp 700 Seiten an seinem aufrege...

On November 23, 2022, a cruel morning greeting swept over Ukraine. Together with the air raid sirens shrieking, came a carpet of bombs spread across the country. Beginning in the eastern areas and a little later in the capital, Ukraine was attacked by 70 enemy missiles, 31 of them aimed at Kyiv. A majority of the rockets were shot down by the armed...

Trotz aller Ungewissheiten und den sich nahezu ständig ändernden Rahmenbedingungen wagte die JULIUS-HIRSCHBERG-GESELLSCHAFT im dritten Jahr der COVID-Pandemie den mutigen Schritt, ihren Jahreskongress wieder als reinen Präsenz-Kongress durchzuführen. Bereits 2005 tagte die Gesellschaft im fränkischen Würzburg. Die stilvolle Stadt am Main, bekannt f...

This anthology is devoted to the curious side of Medical History. Carl Sagan said: ”You have to know the past to understand the present.” This collection of 80 short stories, written by experts in the field, inspires curiosity and provides a detailed look at the History of Medicine. It investigates many topics, including ancient Egyptian knowledge...

The detailed knowledge of the anatomy of the space behind the lens of the eye and the identification of "Berger´s Space" by optical coherence tomography are essential requirements for a successful posterior laser-assisted capsulotomy. Even today, the term "Berger´s Space" and its importance are not well known to many ophthalmologists nor its name g...

Representations of cross-eyed people are often found in paintings. Despite his deformity, the Italian painter Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (1591–1666) nicknamed “Il Guercino” (“the cross-eyed”) was one of the most versatile and significant artists of Italian Baroque.KeywordsGiovanni Francesco BarbieriPainterArtSquintingAmblyopia

Speculation is that Joan of Arc owed her victories over the English to a mandragora (a highly biologically active alkaloid). Other plants, including deadly nightshade, angel’s trumpet and henbane also contain scopolamine, named after its discoverer, Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (also known as Johann Anton Scopoli) (1723–1788).KeywordsGiovanni Antonio S...

Who would have thought that in 1761, the son of an innkeeper in Graz (Austria) would make such a breakthrough in medicine that it would become part of standard procedure in medical diagnosis? Leopold Auenbrugger’s concept of thumping the chest revolutionized medicine. Together with Laënnec’s stethoscope, this diagnostic technique was first used in...

In 1949, Harold Ridley (see about Ridley in later chapter) implanted the first Intraocular Lens (IOL). The history of biometry and calculation of the required artificial lens power began with the introduction of an artificial “lenticulus” and can be dated approximately to 1948/1949. The prediction of the refractive power of the IOL was made by esti...

The German physician and physicist, Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz, made significant contributions to widely varying areas of modern science, including ophthalmology. Helmholtz’ life from first to last was one of devotion to science; he must be counted as one of the foremost thinkers of the nineteenth century.KeywordsHermann von HelmholtzSc...

It is the buffer between the known and the unknown: Quarantine is defined as “a temporary isolation and monitoring of potentially infected persons to protect the society from contagious diseases.” Quarantine is powerful in its uncertainty: waiting to see if something hidden will be revealed. It can be dangerous as well, assuming guilt: everyone is...

For centuries, the blind have used canes as a mobility tool but who invented the white cane is somewhat controversial. Three individuals claim to be the inventors, two of them at about the same time. Today, the white cane is a most important device for the orientation and self-determined mobility of blind people.KeywordsWhite caneBlindDeviceAutonom...

He was a successful scientist and physician, but his other great passion was music. Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin was a major Russian composer of the nineteenth century. His famous opera “Prince Igor” is considered as one of the most important historical national Russian operas. As a scientist, Borodin took part at the very first International Con...

Today, this seventeenth century concept is more weird than scientific: Can the last image a person sees before his death be affixed to his retina? If so, how does one see it? What benefits might this have? Perhaps to convict a killer? Nice idea: No need to waste time comparing fingerprints if you can view the image of the killer immediately! Or may...

As old as humankind and long before the plague, AIDS or COVID, outbreaks of leprosy have affected, and panicked, people on every continent. The clapper in the hand of a leper was used to warn travellers of the oncoming presence of one afflicted with leprosy. Whether called “Hansen’s disease” or the “punishment of God,” leprosy was once one of the h...

Eugen Bleuler, considered as one of the most influential psychiatrists of his time, coined the terms schizophrenia, autism, and ambivalence. Together with Freud and Kraepelin, he gave modern psychiatry a scientific basis. While his colleagues were primarily concerned with organic brain research, he tried to understand psychological symptoms and is...

Why is a female ghost seen from time to time at the castle in Karlsruhe, Germany? Why does she shock people almost to death in a building that was not even built when she was living? An ophthalmologist “knew” the answer: Dr. Johann Heinrich Jung-Stilling (1740–1817).KeywordsHeinrich Jung-StillingOphthalmologistCataract surgeonGhostKarlsruhe

Even in the ancient world, women suffering from so-called hysteria were treated dismissively. This is the story of how, in prudish Victorian England, “hysteria” led to the creation of a very special device; a device which “pleasures” the women of today.KeywordsJoseph Mortimer GranvilleHysteriaWomenCureStimulationClitorisVibrator

If he were he alive today, he would probably be sitting in prison or in a psychiatric ward for Haldane executed a plethora of dangerous experiments on himself and his son. He locked himself in small rooms to inhale deadly gases; he crawled through the carnage caused by underground explosions; he examined blood in order to understand the nature of h...

When an expert hears the name Credé, he thinks of “Credé-prophylaxis,” the procedure where newborn babies are treated with silver nitrate solution to avoid a gonococcal ophthalmitis. This ocular disease often led to blindness. And we owe him thanks for yet another breakthrough in gynecology, the “Credé procedure.”KeywordsCarl Siegmund Franz CredéGy...

Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Renaissance painting “The Blind leading the Blind” (1568) depicts this Biblical parable and leaves a wide field open for interpretation. In earlier paintings, the blind were typically depicted with eyes closed. Here, Bruegel gives each man a different ocular affliction, all painted with a realism that allowed (not undispu...

The ancient Greeks considered her as the representative of the inevitable. She was the one who cut the thread of life which had been previously spun by her two sisters. An ancient kingdom was named after her. A plant with its deadly poison and the death’s head hawkmoth still reminds us of her. Atropos, daughter of Zeus, one of the three Fates and t...

Legend has it that St. Odilia (660–720) was born blind to the family of Alsatian Lord Adalrich and his wife Bereswinda. Rather than have her killed for her infermity, Odilia was given to a peasant family. Taken in by a convent at age 12, she gained sight upon being baptized by Saint Erhard of Regensburg. In 690, she founded a cloister in Hohenburg,...

Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) founded his hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon in 1913. This hospital in the African jungle remains proof of Schweitzer’s deep involvement in humanitarian work. Albert Schweitzer was a complex man: He was a priest, a pacifist, an organist, a philosopher, and a doctor.KeywordsAlbert SchweitzerHumanitarianCharit...

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), considered to be the most famous composer of sacred music, died in 1750 due to an infection resulting from a failed cataract surgery. Even today, with the aid of antibiotics and modern surgical techniques, the risk of endophthalmitis (inflammation of the tissues within the eyeball) in cataract surgery has not been...

They work 24/7 without salary. They can distinguish between right and left, are intelligent with high work ethics, socially competent, capable of withstanding stress—yet they get castrated and microchipped. They are the guide dogs for the blind.KeywordsGuide dogsBlindAutonomyOrientation

In ancient times, Greek scientists played a major role in medicine and therapeutics. Very special ideas were originated by Xenocrates of Aphrodisias, who lived around the middle of the first Century CE. In his 10-book long treatise, “On Useful Things from Living Beings,” he published his rather disgusting ideas of remedies.KeywordsXenocrates of Aph...

Presbyopia (farsightedness associated with the aging of the eye) was the first refractive error corrected by optical aids. Alhazen (Ibn Al Haitham, (965–1040)) was the first to initiate the treatment by using "reading stones." The first efficient bifocal glasses for presbyopes, which corrected near and far vision in one frame, were invented by the...

Trigeminal neuralgia, also called “Tic Douloureux,” is recognized as the most severe pains known. The agonizing attacks result from irritation of the fifth cranial nerve. Even today, treatment is often difficult and frequently results in poor long-term success. Fritz Härtel and Erwin Payr were the first to describe the therapeutic puncture of the G...

Besides leprosy, the plague (“Black Death”), and other terrible diseases, another one raged: “Hellfire.” Like the plague, this appeared epidemic. In the absence of therapy against this ailment, the sick pleaded for aid with Saint Anthony of Eremita. He was the patron saint of “Hellfire,” which is why this disease was later called “Anthony’s Fire.”...

She didn’t like to be called an “Angel,” just as she didn’t like the nickname “Jeanne D’Arc of the North.” She just wanted to help others. Elsa Brändström, daughter of Swedish parents, became a nurse to countless terminally ill, distressed prisoners of war.KeywordsElsa BrandströmNurseCAREWorld War IWorld War II“Angel of Siberia”

Many pictorial representations of the optics of an astigmatic eye illustrate this defect with distorted and unnaturally elongated images. Are these pictures appropriate to explain ametropia (any refractive error of the eye), or to show possible effects of a toric intraocular lens, which will correct the astigmatism of an eye? What are the explanati...

Football for the blind is a new sport. Brazil and Spain are the most prominent countries to pioneer football for blind and partially sighted players. In these two countries, the game was popular in the playgrounds of schools for the blind in the first half of the twentieth century. The first blind football tournament took place in Brazil some 50 ye...

With this phrase, the American physicist Theodore Harold Maiman (1927–2007) reflected on his invention, the LASER. On 16 May 1960, Maiman introduced the first working LASER, not realizing how successful his small device would be. It weighed in at about 2 kg and fitted comfortably in one hand. Since it first flashed in 1960, LASERs have become seemi...

David Joseph Apple (14 September 1941–18 August 2011) was a distinguished ocular pathologist who researched the pathology of intraocular lens complications as well as ophthalmic surgery in general. In addition, he was a medical historian and the official biographer of Sir Harold Ridley, inventor of the intraocular lens (IOL).KeywordsOphthalmologyOp...

The soft contours and color transitions, the signature feature of Claude Monet’s work, were likely the result of near-sightedness and cataracts. Monet had always rejected using glasses with the comment that “he didn’t want to see so sharply.” After the removal of his cataracts, he was very disappointed by the murky colors he had used prior to surge...

Using their fingers, blind people can be taught to read. They glide their fingertips over dot-shaped elevations on the paper. Palpated, one after the other, these tangible dots translate to letters, words, sentences, or numbers. This internationally accepted method of communication for the blind was developed by the Frenchman, Louis Braille, nearly...

The modern soft contact lens industry owes its development to the pioneering work of Prof. Otto Wichterle (1913–1998) who produced the first soft contact lenses in 1961. Today, due to his efforts, millions of people now view the world in comfort.KeywordsOtto WichterleInventorChemistSoft contact lens

The history of infectious diseases in general and the plague in particular is a history of horror and human helplessness. The plague, the “Black Death,” claimed victims in the millions, probably including Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121–180 AD), Pope Pelagius II (†590), and Italian painter Titian (c. 1488/90–1576) died because of the plague. In...

The entoptic phenomenon (visual effects whose source is within the eye itself) of “Haidinger’s Brushes” was first described by Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger (1795–1871) in 1844. The ability of the human eye to see polarized light had not been known so far. The phenomenon of “Haidinger’s Brushes” still is not completely understood.KeywordsWilhel...

Why is northern Germany mostly Protestant while southern Germany predominantly Catholic? Was it because the Protestant King of Sweden, Gustav II Adolf was unable to continue his triumphant march to the South during the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648). And what has all this to do with a pair of glasses?KeywordsGustav II AdolfKingSwedenMyopicShort sigh...

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is regarded as standard diagnostic technique in various sub-disciplines in ophthalmology today. In 1990, by using white-light interferometry, Professor Adolf Friedrich Fercher (1939–2017) developed a two-dimensional picture of the fundus (the part of a hollow organ farthest from the opening) of a living human eye...

Around the globe, corneal defects are a major cause of severe visual impairment or blindness. By developing a technique to successfully transplant the cornea (keratoplasty), Eduard Zirm made an important contribution to ophthalmology. Today, keratoplasty is considered routine surgery. In many countries however, due to the lack of donor corneas, the...

Gerhard Rudolph Edmund Meyer-Schwickerath’s (1920–1992) vision of the “trapped sun” changed ophthalmic history. He was the first to use sunlight for eye surgery. His ideas on the revolutionary technique of using light as a therapeutic tool in diseases of the retina made Meyer-Schwickerath world famous. In 1949, he invented a treatment which made no...

IOLCon – the roadmap for reliable IOL calculation. New features of modern international internet data-base for updated and optimized IOL constants: The “Lens Power Calculation Module” Purpose: The Internet database IOLCon (www.iolcon.org), founded in 2017, established itself meanwhile as a reliable, worldwide available source for optimized IOL con...

Mit «STEP BY STEP – memoires van een oogarts» veröffentlichte Dr. Frank Goes seine beeindruckende Autobiographie, mit der er auf sein aufregendes Leben an der Spitze der Augenheilkunde und deren enorme Fortschritte in Technologie und Wissen zurückblickt. Goes betrachtete seine Karriere in der Augenheilkunde als besonderes Privileg, denn er durfte Z...

Bereits 2005 tagte die Julius-Hirschberg-Gesellschaft (JHG) im fränkischen Würzburg. In die Stadt am Main, bekannt für ihre zahlreichen Gebäude im Barock- sowie Rokoko-Stil und besonders für die Würzburger Residenz aus dem 18. Jahrhundert, hatte die JHG in diesem Jahr erneut eingeladen: Vom 7. bis 9. Oktober fand unter der Leitung des Geschäftsführ...

Strategically favorable, its location has often turned it into a political “bone of contention”: About 20 km from the French and 160 km from the English coast, the Channel Island of Jersey has many privileges documenting its independence. During the Second World War, the islands were the only part of Britain occupied by German troops. Here Hitler b...

According to legend, in 490 BCE, Pheidippides, ran approximately 26 miles from the plains of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over the Persians. When he arrived, he shouted “We have won!” and then collapsed and died. Based on this legend, running the marathon was accepted as a sporting discipline in the first modern Olympic Games in...

Marfan’s syndrome has a wide range of symptoms. The classical form of Marfan’s syndrome is often diagnosed by the appearance of the person concerned: the characteristic, but not necessarily, is an above average body size and very long extremities and fingers (arachnodactyly).

The turbulent history of Henry Dunant, a Swiss businessman and humanist, is also the history of the formation of the Red Cross. Together with Frédéric Passy, he was awarded in 1901 the first Nobel Peace Prize for the establishment of this organization.

This is a story which could have been a romance novel by Danielle Steele: A successful doctor falls in love with his scrub nurse, they marry and live happily ever after. In the story, the brilliant surgeon makes an important discovery: rubber gloves suitable for surgery. We owe the introduction of this remarkable concept to the love of William S. H...

The most common cause of blindness in the developing world is cataract. After glaucoma and diabetes, it is the third most common complaint in the industrialized nations. Each year, about 9.5 million patients worldwide undergo surgery to remove cataracts.

As a tactic, “sitting it out” can get you through some difficult situations. However, on 18 June 1815, sitting was so painful for a world famous general that he lost an important battle. Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) was defeated at the battle at Waterloo probably because he suffered seriously from hemorrhoids.

An invisible visual aid directly placed on the eye; that was one of da Vinci’s dreams. He experimented, but it would take centuries before his dream could be realized.

He was the greatest violin virtuoso of his time. Even as a child Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840) was famous in the music world. As brilliant as was his musical career, his struggles with disease and medications, as evidenced by multiple records, gained him almost equal publicity. Even today, there is still wide speculation about his illnesses and the...

In the course of history, famous personalities such as Albrecht Dürer, Friedrich Schiller, and Oliver Cromwell fell victim to malaria, the “intermittant fever.” Did Countess Ana Chinchon provide the cure?

The art of making artificial eyes can be traced back to Egypt’s pharaohs as depicted in numerous works of art. The eye has always been the expression of beauty and perfection. So, it is easy to comprehend that eye diseases, like microphthalmus (abnormally small eyeball) or the complete loss of an eye, will not only impair patient’s life cosmeticall...

Much discovery was set in motion during the Galilean age of the seventeenth and eighteenth century, not only in the sky above, but also on the earth below. Medicine evolved from humoral pathology, which held that “disorders in the fluids of the body, especially the blood, are the basic factors in disease,” to a science- and experimental-based medic...

Medical doctors can write reports and scribble orders for prescriptions. That they can also author successful novels applies to only a few. How fortunate for us that ophthalmologist, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, turned his hobby into a career, switching from his practice to exercise his talent as a writer. What a loss for crime fiction had he not create...

It develops in the 16th week of pregnancy and remains unchanged throughout life. Politicians have argued to make it a feature of national or state identity cards. In addition to height, eye color, and a photo, the fingerprint, another biometric feature, would be included. But when did people actually know and use this forgery-proof individual featu...

This substance, now used in numerous cosmetic and eye drop formulations, was described just 75 years ago. Hyaloronic acid or hyaluranon (HA) is a viscoelastic polysaccharide appearing in all tissues of the human body. HA is present particularly, in large amounts in the vitreous of the eye as well as in the soft tissues of joints and skin. This subs...

Some years after the discovery of radium by Marie Curie (1867–1934), hope arose of being able to make the blind see again. Marie Curie confirmed the first reports by Friedrich Giesel (1852–1927) in 1899 of visual effect of radium radiation in blind eyes. Together with Louis Émile Javal (1839–1907), she also did research, stating that an unimpaired...

With invention and implantation of the first intraocular lens by Harold Ridley in 1949, the question arose as to how the refractive power of the artificial lens could be determined. Ridley initially tried to mimic the dimensions of the human crystalline lens, but that proved to be the wrong approach. This chapter will provide a short overview of th...

Optical biometry fundamentally revolutionized cataract surgery. 2019 marked the 20th anniversary of the launching of the first optical biometer. Professor Adolf Friedrich Fercher’s visionary ideas laid the basis for the development of optical coherence tomography (imaging technique using a special frequency of light). In 1982, Fercher’s patent allo...

In 2021, approximately 537 million adults are living with diabetes. The total number of people living with diabetes is projected to rise to 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2045. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, it was a sentence of death for those who suffered from diabetes type 1. Their miserable fate was a very short life base...

Millions of successful cataract procedures are performed worldwide annually. Two thousand years BCE, the Greeks manufactured hemispheres made from glass having the property to magnify written text. Recent knowledge assumes that the Greeks did not benefit from this effect: the spheres appear to have been used as ornaments or jewelry. The first repor...

In one of the Harry Potter books, Fred and George Weasley created “Extendable Ears.” We “Muggles” instead, have the stethoscope first described by René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laënnec in 1819. Perhaps, he invented it from a dislike of touching the patient or out of a sense of decency, since he would have to have put his ear to a lady’s breast. Now the...

To describe himself he used words like “ophthalmiater”, pontifical, imperial, and royal. Those, who knew him described him as a boastful pretender to arts which he did not understand, arrogant and as a quintessential of a quack: John Taylor (1703–1770), oculist.