[The ametropías: updated review for non-ophthalmologists physicians]

Refractive errors are caused by a decoupling of the power of convergence of the eye lens, the cornea and lens, which make the rays reaching the eye to focus and generate an image, and the retina, which is the biological photosensitive screen where the image will be transformed into a nerve impulse. These defects include myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. Presbyopia can also be considered a refractive defect, but of special features, since only affects near vision in patients older than 40 years. By altering the quality of the focused image on the most sensitive area of the retina (the macula), they decrease visual acuity. For their management several options exist, from the use of glasses and contact lenses to surgical correction (refractive surgery). The incidence of certain refractive errors (myopia specifically) has increased in recent decades, some environmental factors related to it have been identified. Some medical management measures have shown a positive effect in controlling its onset and progression.

Emily Dickinson's ophthalmic consultation with Henry Willard Williams, MD

Emily Dickinson is one of America's premier poets of the 19th century. Henry Willard Williams, MD, was one of the very first physicians to limit his practice to ophthalmology and was the established leader in his field in Boston, Massachusetts. They met during the time of the Civil War, when Emily consulted him about her ophthalmic disorder. No records of the diagnosis survive. Photophobia, aching eyes, and a restriction in her ability to work up close were her main symptoms. Iritis, exotropia, or psychiatric problems are the most frequent diagnoses offered to explain her difficulties. Rather than attempt a definitive conclusion, this article will offer an additional possibility that Dr Williams likely considered (ie, hysterical hyperaesthesia of the retina). This was a common diagnosis at that time, although it has currently faded from use.

Benjamin Martin (1704-1782) and his writings on the eye and eyeglasses

Benjamin Martin (1704-1782) was an English schoolmaster, author, popular science lecturer, optician, and instrument maker. During his diverse career, he sought to introduce improvements to various instruments, including the invention of a unique type of spectacles, which he called "visual glasses." He wrote numerous monographs on a wide range of topics, with optics being his area of greatest expertise. This paper presents a brief biographical sketch of Martin and examines his writings for what he had to say about the eye and eyeglasses.

Benjamin Martin's visual glasses

Although a modern analysis of Martin's theory for visual glasses would probably concur with his detractors, he certainly has provided modern collectors with a style that is much desired. It is interesting to note how many specimens have survived 200+ years. Are they so curious in appearance that people have not discarded them? Were they better-constructed than other contemporary spectacles and, therefore, lasted longer? Or, were they very popular, with the opportunity for many to survive?

George Adams Junior and his 1789 book An essay on vision

English instrument maker George Adams Junior (1750-1795) published An Essay on Vision in 1789, with a second edition appearing in 1792. The 153 page book (157 pages in the second edition) presented material on structure of the eye and the basic nature of vision and vision conditions, with an emphasis on the proper use and choice of spectacles for the "long sighted" and the "short-sighted." A brief biographical sketch of Adams is given, and the contents of the book are discussed, with presentation of excerpts relating to general optometric principles. The excerpts can serve to illustrate the state of optometric knowledge in the late eighteenth century.

Johannes Amos Comenius (1592-1670) and his depiction of lenses and spectacles in the first children's picture book

Johannes Amos Comenius (1592-1670) was a Moravian clergyman, teacher, and author. He is recognized as introducing several concepts of modern education. He advanced the views that education should be appropriate to age and development levels and that teaching should make use of everyday sensory experience. One of his many books, Orbis Pictus, followed those concepts. Orbis Pictus, first published in 1657, is hailed as the first children's picture book. Among the many commonplace objects he included in the book were a mirror, spectacles, a telescope, a magnifying lens, and a burning glass.

Transverse chop: new or old phaco technique

Buddy Holly's glasses were part of his performing identity. Correspondence with Dr. J. Davis Armistead, the man who prescribed and sold him those striking glasses over 50 years ago, provides the definitive story of Buddy Holly's glasses.

[Aversion to spectacles and the diffusion of optical knowledge among early modern medical practitioners]

In this essay it is shown that eyeglasses were not highly recommended in medical treatises of the Early Modern times. They were often not mentioned amongst the therapeutical advices for eye disorders, or, if they were, not without a certain reluctance. It is shown how this can be understood in view of commonly held opinions about the diseased body, and the way vision takes place. Eyeglasses did not fit within the holistic remedies in use. Oculists were ambiguous too, but on different grounds: whereas the conceptual background seemed not such an issue, they considered eyeglasses as a threat towards their profession. The patient himself seemed to be seduced by the effect of eyeglasses, though some doubts about its working would also push him to try other popular remedies. The attitude of physicians gradually changed during the seventeenth century. It is argued that this can be linked to the evolution in ocular anatomy, strongly influenced by optical insights, whereby the eye is no longer considered in relation to the body, but to the world outside. Eyeglasses are thus on the edge of different discourses. It is the dynamic interaction between all of them that makes Early Modern ophthalmology so interesting and complex.