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Giza Memorial Ophthalmic Laboratory, Cairo
BOOK NOTICES ship of Professor de Lapersonne, may exercise on world conditions an influ ence of no little importance. Park Lewis. Société Beige dO{^talmologie, Bulle tin no. 59. Minutes of the fiftyninth meeting of the Society, Brussels, November 24. 1929. Paper covers, 106 pages. Brussels, Imprimerie Medícale et Scientifique. 34 Rue Botanique. 1929. Price not stated. This annual volume of transactions serves in the first place as a directory of the members of the Society. Among the eight honorary members is our own cosmopolitan Professor de Schweinitz, as well as representatives of Italy, Spain, France, and Holland. In its twenty-four scientific communications are included a discussion by Moers of the use of the diathermic knife in orbital phlegmon, a paper by Rubbrecht on the closure of retinal tears, case reports of various ocular tumors, a case of multiple polyp of the con junctiva of each eye. a description by Weckers of a method of treatment of painful seeing eyes by orbital injection of alcohol, a paper by Bichelonne on the history of toric and similar lenses, and a paper by Kleefeld on the local therapeutic use of insulin for corneal ulcer. W. H. Crisp. Ophthalmological Society of Egypt, Bulletin. Volume 22. 1929. Oc tavo, 136 pages, paper, 14 plates, 5 illustrations in text. Published by the Society, Cairo, 1929. Price 20 P.T. These annual transactions, edited by a committee composed of five officers of the Society, constitute a real contri bution to the current literature of oph thalmology, in which the 116 members and fifteen honorary members may well find satisfaction. The scientific contri butions, numbering twenty-two, are arranged under fifteen headings much like those used in the Transactions of the Ophthalmological Society of the
44S
United Kingdom. The first paper, his torical of Egyptian ophthalmia, by Demitriadis of Athens, is written in French. All the others are in English. But it is interesting to note that, at this twenty-sixth meeting of the Society, a committee was formed to select suitable Arabic technical terms, from old Arabic books when available, or translating the modern expressions into Arabic. From the control of its founders this Society has passed wholly to that of Egyptian ophthalmologists. It might be feared that the political unrest and anti-English attitude that have been manifest with regard to some things in Egypt would cause some serious dis turbance in the branch of modern west ern ophthalmology planted on this bor der of the Orient. It is reassuring to find among the honorary members the names of three who live in England, in cluding Elliot and MacCallan. Still more significant is the prominence g^ven to MacCallan's classification of stages of trachoma. These mission aries of British practical ophthalmol ogy may rest satisfied that their labors have not been in vain. The plates in this volume reproduce photographs and skiagraphs of striking cases, particularly of orbital tumors; and the text illustrations explain meth ods of operating and give fields of vision. It will be of interest to oph thalmologists in other countries to know that a limited number of back issues of the Bulletin are for sale, and can be obtained from the Honorary Treasurer and Archivist, Dr. Eisa Hamdy el Maziny Bey, Director of Ophthalmic Hospitals, Dawawin P.O., Cairo, Egypt. Edward Jackson. Giza Memorial Ophthalmic Labora tory, Cairo (Egypt). Third an nual report, 1928. Issued for the Department of Public Health of the Ministry of the Interior (Egypt) by the Misr Press, Cairo. Paper covers, 112 pages, price not stated. This surprisingly well illustrated an-
446
BOOK NOTICES
nual report of a philanthropic institu tion devoted to pathological examina tions and research work, together with postgraduate teaching in ophthalmol ogy, contains statistics of the speci mens examined, reports of an important number of the more interesting cases encountered, and several scientific papers. From the pathological section comes the encouraging statement that during the last six years the number of eyes rendered blind by anterior synechiae and adherent leucomata has fallen from 182 to 99. Almost without exception such eyes have been lost as the result of gonorrheal ophthalmia, and the reduction in the number of cases is welcomed as indicating that the benefit to be derived from ophthal mic hospitals is realized increasingly by the fellaheen, and that therefore the
general condition of the eyes of the Egyptian people is improving steadily. A good deal is again said as to the re sults obtained in the use of chaul moogra oil for trachoma. The oil is considered a valuable remedy but is not a specific. A paper by the director of the Labor atory, Rowland P. Wilson, controverts the statement of Nicolle that follicles occasionally found in the eyes of vari ous monkeys are due to trachoma. Wilson has found follicles in a number of monkeys' eyes, but regards the fol licles as being usually the evidence of a simple folliculosis, although he ad mits that future research may show that follicular conjunctivitis is caused by an organism bearing a close relation to that which gives rise to human tra choma. IV. H. Crisp.
44S
United Kingdom. The first paper, his torical of Egyptian ophthalmia, by Demitriadis of Athens, is written in French. All the others are in English. But it is interesting to note that, at this twenty-sixth meeting of the Society, a committee was formed to select suitable Arabic technical terms, from old Arabic books when available, or translating the modern expressions into Arabic. From the control of its founders this Society has passed wholly to that of Egyptian ophthalmologists. It might be feared that the political unrest and anti-English attitude that have been manifest with regard to some things in Egypt would cause some serious dis turbance in the branch of modern west ern ophthalmology planted on this bor der of the Orient. It is reassuring to find among the honorary members the names of three who live in England, in cluding Elliot and MacCallan. Still more significant is the prominence g^ven to MacCallan's classification of stages of trachoma. These mission aries of British practical ophthalmol ogy may rest satisfied that their labors have not been in vain. The plates in this volume reproduce photographs and skiagraphs of striking cases, particularly of orbital tumors; and the text illustrations explain meth ods of operating and give fields of vision. It will be of interest to oph thalmologists in other countries to know that a limited number of back issues of the Bulletin are for sale, and can be obtained from the Honorary Treasurer and Archivist, Dr. Eisa Hamdy el Maziny Bey, Director of Ophthalmic Hospitals, Dawawin P.O., Cairo, Egypt. Edward Jackson. Giza Memorial Ophthalmic Labora tory, Cairo (Egypt). Third an nual report, 1928. Issued for the Department of Public Health of the Ministry of the Interior (Egypt) by the Misr Press, Cairo. Paper covers, 112 pages, price not stated. This surprisingly well illustrated an-
446
BOOK NOTICES
nual report of a philanthropic institu tion devoted to pathological examina tions and research work, together with postgraduate teaching in ophthalmol ogy, contains statistics of the speci mens examined, reports of an important number of the more interesting cases encountered, and several scientific papers. From the pathological section comes the encouraging statement that during the last six years the number of eyes rendered blind by anterior synechiae and adherent leucomata has fallen from 182 to 99. Almost without exception such eyes have been lost as the result of gonorrheal ophthalmia, and the reduction in the number of cases is welcomed as indicating that the benefit to be derived from ophthal mic hospitals is realized increasingly by the fellaheen, and that therefore the
general condition of the eyes of the Egyptian people is improving steadily. A good deal is again said as to the re sults obtained in the use of chaul moogra oil for trachoma. The oil is considered a valuable remedy but is not a specific. A paper by the director of the Labor atory, Rowland P. Wilson, controverts the statement of Nicolle that follicles occasionally found in the eyes of vari ous monkeys are due to trachoma. Wilson has found follicles in a number of monkeys' eyes, but regards the fol licles as being usually the evidence of a simple folliculosis, although he ad mits that future research may show that follicular conjunctivitis is caused by an organism bearing a close relation to that which gives rise to human tra choma. IV. H. Crisp.