What Is Ophthalmology?
What Diseases Ophthalmologists Treat
Ophthalmologists can treat any eye condition, no matter how minor or complex. For example, they can treat dry eye or excessive tearing, and they can also help in cases of eye muscle problems or misalignment of the eyes. These specialists routinely provide care for patients with elevated eye pressure (glaucoma), and they diagnose and treat macular degeneration, cataracts, and other vision problems associated with aging.
In particular, ophthalmologists tend to be called on to treat eye complications in patients with diabetes, including macular edema and other forms of retinopathy. Ophthalmologists also diagnose and treat eye infections such as conjunctivitis, and they can provide medication and perform procedures to treat styes, cysts, and eye tumors.
History Of Ophthalmology
The history of ophthalmology is long; in fact, it dates back to the very beginning of written history itself. Sushruta, a surgeon living in ancient India in 800 B.C., recorded information about seventy-six different eye diseases and described several types of ophthalmology instruments and treatment techniques. Sushruta was especially interested in surgery for cataracts, and he is regarded today as the world's first cataract surgeon. Aristotle discovered the three layers of the eye through his dissection experiments on animal eyes. Rufus of Ephesus discovered the epithelial (fourth) layer, and Galen described the cornea, lens, and optic nerve. From the Middle Ages to the 1900s, the understanding of the eye advanced significantly. Georg Beer pioneered an operation for the removal of cataracts (known as 'Beer's operation'), and Baron Michael Johann Baptist de Wenzel, who treated King George III, was also renowned for his expertise in cataract removal. Moorfields Eye Hospital, the world's first hospital dedicated exclusively to ophthalmology, opened in 1805 in London, and it is still in existence.
Hermann von Helmholtz is credited with having invented the ophthalmoscope in 1851. Across the world, this instrument is now used in routine eye exams daily. The ophthalmoscope increased knowledge about the eye among the ophthalmologists of the nineteenth century, and it also promoted greater accuracy and precision in diagnosis. Treatment methods drastically improved during this time, and operations for glaucoma were refined during this era. In the modern age, the invention of laser surgery for vision correction and treatment of eye diseases has greatly improved outcomes for patients and reduced side effects.
