Retinitis pigmentosa without the characteristic pigmentation : a report of two cases / by George M. Gould.

  • Gould, George Milbrey, 1848-1922.
Date:
1897
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Retinitis pigmentosa without the characteristic pigmentation : a report of two cases / by George M. Gould. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    (‘onceniing: the symptoms, she remembers tlmt lier husband’s father liad to bow liis head, very low, when in doubt, to 'see the frround, stairs, etc. I am most sorry to add, that tliis man is now dead, and that no oculist ever examined his eyes. Whetlier Ins disease was with or without the characteri.stic pif?mentation, mu.st remain a re- gretable mystery. Under the circumstances, there caniiot be the slightest doubt that it was one or the other. The knowledge would help to determine two important questions, that relating to heredity, and that as to the essential identity of the disease. I regret very much that it was impossible for me to measure the variation of central and peripheral acuteness under diminished illumination. Being private patients, their good will was exhausted by the perimetric examina- tions, and I judged that these tests were of far more impor- tance than those pertaining to the intensity of the retinal stimulation. There can be no doubt that, as in all such conditions, the law of greater contraction of the fields, and lessened acuity would have followed the lowering of the illumination. In this connection, of the most suggestive interest is the case of Atwood (Royal Bond. Oph. Hos. Rep., 1895), in which with normal fields for full illumina- tion, there was contraction under lowered illumination. I suspect, however, that perfectly normal and healthy eyes might exhibit this phenomenon more or less. It would seem to be a logical deduction from the known laws of light and sensation. If this is true, the initial stages of retinitis pigmentosa without pigmentation might naturally exhibit a disproportionately greater reduction, both in acuity and contraction. A Brief Review of the Literature.* Nothing better illustrates the importance of a proper definition and use of words, than that pertaining to the words hemeralopia and nyctalopia. For years I have been advising their utter disuse on account of the confusion sure to result if each writer does not distinctly state what he means whenever he employs them. But until I attempted to collate the literature on this subject, I never suspected the extent of misfortune connected with the term “hem- eralopia.” In the first place, and in any case, it denotes but a symptom, and may be a consequence of very diverse and manifold causes and conditions. The same author will sometimes use it in the most contradictory senses, or *I am under obligations to my friends. Dr. Wendell Reber and . Dr. W. L. Pyle, of Philadelphia, for valuable and kind assistance in collecting the reports reviewed.