On the rise of modern ophthalmology : an address delivered at a joint meeting of the Medical Society of St. Mungo's College and the Medico-Chirurgical Society, Anderson's College / by A. Maitland Ramsay, M.D.

  • Ramsay, A. Maitland (Andrew Maitland), 1859-1946.
Date:
1900
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Licence: In copyright

Credit: On the rise of modern ophthalmology : an address delivered at a joint meeting of the Medical Society of St. Mungo's College and the Medico-Chirurgical Society, Anderson's College / by A. Maitland Ramsay, M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    of his ophthalmoscopic examinations. In spite of his great age he was always ready to be instructed as well as to instruct, and only two years before his death he carefully revised the proofs of a supplement to the last French translation of his book by means of which his friend Warlomont sought to bring it au courant with the science of the day. It is not, however, possible satisfactorily to alter another man's work. That must just be taken as far as it goes, and accepted for what it is worth. In that way only can his successors do him honour, for, by taking their stand upon what he has accomplished, they can themselves rise to things higher than would have been possible had they not possessed those firm foundations on which to build their own superstructure of knowledge. From this point onwards ophthalmology was to advance with very great strides, and from among the many earnest workers in this department, the names of von Graefe, Bonders, and Bowman stand out pre-eminent. These three Masters of Medicine, each possessing such a well-marked personality, were instinc- tively drawn to each other by common aims and common interests. They met for the first time in London during the Great Exhibition of 1851. It was a memorable meeting for them all, for it was the beginning of a lifelong friendship, and of a series of discussions all ending in that mutual helpfulness which enabled them to lay the foundations of modern ophthalmology. At the time when Helmholtz invented the ophthalmoscope Albert von Graefe was in practice at Berlin, and it is said that when he first saw the fundus of the living eye his face flushed with excitement, and he exclaimed, Helmholtz has unfolded to us a new world ! What remains to be discovered ? He was then twenty-three years of age, having been born in 1828. His father, a distinguished surgeon in Berlin, died while this his youngest son was yet a boy, so his upbringing and educalioa