The management of the eye, ear, and throat / by Henry Power, George P. Field, John S. Bristowe.

  • Power, H. (Henry), 1829-1911.
Date:
[between 1890 and 1899?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The management of the eye, ear, and throat / by Henry Power, George P. Field, John S. Bristowe. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    79/286 (page 75)
    ~NTMyopia ok Short-sightedness. The uneducated man, in common with animals, uses his eyes for tl^e perception and intelligent recognition of distant rather thai^ of near objects. The ^shepherd tending his flocks on wide steppes or plains, the hunter pursuing the deer or the buffalo, the seaman in his canoe or bark—all have their attention fixed on distant objects, and for short periods only accommodate them for near objects; and even the occupations of women in illiterate nations, such as spinning and knitting, make little demand upon the muscular system \f the eyei^; but as civilisation develops, as a knowledge of \letters becomes imperative, as manufac- tures become mord numerous, and the products of art more delicate and refined, as hemming and stitching and fine tapestry-work take the place of the coarser kinds of work done by womeii sedentary occupations become more numerous, and the Wes are more and more severely tried. The conditions for the obtainment of food, that prime mover to all exertion, aife reversed. The savage loses his dinner if his distant vision is bad; the artisan of the present day has little change of obtaining his if his vision for near objects is impaired. But, in proportion as the eyes are exerted upon nea* objects, they tend to become specially adapted for that kind of work. Vision for dis- tant objects becomes impaired, whilst vision for near ob- jects is improved, and the condition termed near- or short- sightedness, the technical name of which is myopia, is developed. \