Ancient Egyptian records provide clues to ophthalmic care

Even 125 years ago, medical students were fortunate to have a reference to help them study for the boards.

Henry Edward Juler (1842-1921), who was a senior surgeon at the Royal Westminster Hospital in London, wrote the section on ophthalmology. In 1886 Juler developed one of the earliest electric ophthalmoscopes that was very popular in the United Kingdom and was sold here in the United States by Queen & Co., a large distributor in Philadelphia.

From 1894 through 1911, Henry Juler was the chief of service at the Royal Westminster Eye Hospital and also at Saint Mary's Hospital. In 1882 he produced a small reflecting ophthalmoscope that had a rotating disc of 21 lenses, which was also very popular during that period. Four years later in 1886, he added a small external light bulb to this ophthalmoscope and connected it to a battery, which coupled with a small, removable concave mirror. He placed his early electric ophthalmoscope in the marketplace.