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The Presentation of Projection Slides
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EDITORIALS regular meeting of the New York Society of Clinical Ophthalmology. The subject of the lecture is preferably something in which Dr. Schoenberg was interested. The Chicago Ophthalmological Society founded a Gifford Lectureship in 1944, in memory of Dr. Sanford R. Gifford. This lec ture is given at a meeting of the Chicago Ophthalmological Society. The Section on Ophthalmology of the Col lege of Physicians of Philadelphia estab lished a de Schweinitz Lecture, in 1937, which is given at one of its meetings. The Francis I. Proctor Lecture on Oph thalmology was established in the University of California in 1946 by Mrs. Proctor, in memory of her husband, and is given at the end of the lecture course which the Division of Ophthalmology of the University of Cali fornia Medical School holds every fall. In Boston there is a Howe Lectureship in Ophthamology sponsored by the Howe Foundation which is given only from time to time because of some particular circum stance. The Estelle Doheny Lecture is presented by the Estelle Doheny Eye Foundation in Los Angeles. The lecture, an integral part of the Foundation's function, is named for Mrs. Edward Laurence Doheny the Foun dation's benefactress, who, in establishing the Foundation on August 1, 1947, dedicated it irrevocably to further "the conservation, improvement, and restoration of human eye sight." The lecture is given in Los Angeles, under the auspices of the Los Angeles So ciety of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology. Dr. Joseph Schneider, of Milwaukee, left a sum of money to the Interstate Postgradu ate Medical Association of North America, the income of which was to be used in pro moting the investigation of constitutional dis eases and their relationship to the eye. This led to the establishment of a lecture which is delivered every year at the annual meeting. The bequest is called the Schneider Eye Re search Foundation and it is probably one of the earliest in this country devoted to this special field.
These 10 lectures make a serious demand on suitable speakers and on appropriate topics. When the supply of speakers is in adequate and sufficiently new subjects are not available, the purpose of the lectureship suffers and the project loses in dignity and prestige. The simplest remedy under exist ing conditions consists in giving the lectures not as a yearly event but only when the cir cumstances warrant. The desire to honor the name of an out standing ophthalmologist who has made a real contribution to ophthalmology during his life is most praiseworthy and should be encouraged but, in the future in place of more lectures, may I suggest a substitute in the form of a prize. This prize consisting preferably in a money stipend and not a medal should be bestowed for the report of original labora tory or clinical investigation which has been accepted by a committee of one of our na tional societies. This investigation is to be published under the name of the author as re cipient of the prize in question. This would serve as a stimulus for the young laboratory or clinical worker. Arnold Knapp. T H E PRESENTATION O F PROJECTION SLIDES There can be no doubt of the value of good illustrations in the presentation of a paper at a medical meeting. The recent Academy meeting emphasized some points that would seem to warrant a few comments on this subject. Most medical centers have good photo graphic departments that make creditable projection slides. In addition, the great ad vances in amateur photography have made it possible for the interested individual to produce his own slides, so that there should be no excuse for poor slides. With the advent of adequate projection, there has been a tendency to use 2 by 2 slides. They have many advantages: they are inexpensive, take up little space, and mate-
136
CORRESPONDENCE
rially reduce the weight, an important factor for the traveler. In addition they make color readily available and there can be no doubt of the value of color in projection slides. If the 2 by 2-size slides are used, they must be photographically good, for poor slides of this type, when projected, tend to exaggerate the defects that may be present. There are certain fundamental principles that must be considered if the projection of illus trations is to be effective. Anything that tends to detract from the data the slide is attempt ing to point out must be avoided. If color slides are used they should be properly exposed; also, they must be in focus, as colored illustrations out of focus are very uncomfortable to the observer. They should be mounted in glass so that they can be easily focused and the focus maintained during projection. The cardboard mounts furnished by the processors of color are un satisfactory as the film has a tendency to buckle when it becomes heated. Glass slides also protect the films against damage. It is well to remember that one poor picture may detract so much that the good ones are for gotten. Care should be taken that the illustrations are projected right side out and not "up side down." If the photograph of a drawing is projected with the artist's name "up side down" and backward the audience has a tendency to attempt to decipher the name rather than to observe the data presented. Slides should be clean: finger prints, par ticles of dust, and smears detract a great deal. In the use of slides, it is important that data projected be confined to the area of the slide normally used; the masks for both types of slides are standardized as to the space used for projection. If this is not observed the author may find that the most important part of the slide is off the screen. This hap pened a number of times at the recent meet ing. The above precaution is especially impor tant if 2 by 2 slides are used. When typing is used, a common mistake is to include so many lines that it is not legi ble. In the preparation of typing for slides,
a new ribbon should be employed and not over 12 lines double spaced used. Another fault is attempting to get so much material on a single chart that when it is projected it is not readable. When high-power microphotographs are used, they should always be preceded by a low-power projection so that the audience can orient itself. Slides to be used at a medical meeting should be prepared well in advance so as to allow sufficient time to replace any defective illustrations. When the slides are given to the projec tionist, they should be in proper order and be properly marked in the upper right hand corner by a small paper disc or star. In the preparation of Kodachrome slides, the dull surface should be toward the screen and the slide should be upside down. When the slides are projected, the author should speak from the slide or glance at the slide to be certain that it is in focus since there is a tendency among projectionists to set the instrument at one point and not bother to readjust the focus for various slides. It is usually essential that the author point out the important features of the illustration. If illustrations are to be used during the presentation of a paper, they must pertain to the subject, must be clean, in good focus, and readily readable if the audience is to be held, otherwise, with the lights off, a warm room, and poor slides, there is a tendency to take "40 winks" while the author drones on. Frederick C. Cordes.
CORRESPONDENCE EFFECT OF RETROBULBAR ANESTHESIA ON OCULAR TENSION AND VITREOUS PRESSURE
Editor, American Journal of Ophthalmology: In your October issue I read a paper by Dr. Harold Gifford, Jr., entitled "A study of the effect of retrobulbar anesthesia on ocu lar tension and vitreous pressure." I wish to make a few comments on the paper. Some years ago I made a study of
EDITORIALS regular meeting of the New York Society of Clinical Ophthalmology. The subject of the lecture is preferably something in which Dr. Schoenberg was interested. The Chicago Ophthalmological Society founded a Gifford Lectureship in 1944, in memory of Dr. Sanford R. Gifford. This lec ture is given at a meeting of the Chicago Ophthalmological Society. The Section on Ophthalmology of the Col lege of Physicians of Philadelphia estab lished a de Schweinitz Lecture, in 1937, which is given at one of its meetings. The Francis I. Proctor Lecture on Oph thalmology was established in the University of California in 1946 by Mrs. Proctor, in memory of her husband, and is given at the end of the lecture course which the Division of Ophthalmology of the University of Cali fornia Medical School holds every fall. In Boston there is a Howe Lectureship in Ophthamology sponsored by the Howe Foundation which is given only from time to time because of some particular circum stance. The Estelle Doheny Lecture is presented by the Estelle Doheny Eye Foundation in Los Angeles. The lecture, an integral part of the Foundation's function, is named for Mrs. Edward Laurence Doheny the Foun dation's benefactress, who, in establishing the Foundation on August 1, 1947, dedicated it irrevocably to further "the conservation, improvement, and restoration of human eye sight." The lecture is given in Los Angeles, under the auspices of the Los Angeles So ciety of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology. Dr. Joseph Schneider, of Milwaukee, left a sum of money to the Interstate Postgradu ate Medical Association of North America, the income of which was to be used in pro moting the investigation of constitutional dis eases and their relationship to the eye. This led to the establishment of a lecture which is delivered every year at the annual meeting. The bequest is called the Schneider Eye Re search Foundation and it is probably one of the earliest in this country devoted to this special field.
These 10 lectures make a serious demand on suitable speakers and on appropriate topics. When the supply of speakers is in adequate and sufficiently new subjects are not available, the purpose of the lectureship suffers and the project loses in dignity and prestige. The simplest remedy under exist ing conditions consists in giving the lectures not as a yearly event but only when the cir cumstances warrant. The desire to honor the name of an out standing ophthalmologist who has made a real contribution to ophthalmology during his life is most praiseworthy and should be encouraged but, in the future in place of more lectures, may I suggest a substitute in the form of a prize. This prize consisting preferably in a money stipend and not a medal should be bestowed for the report of original labora tory or clinical investigation which has been accepted by a committee of one of our na tional societies. This investigation is to be published under the name of the author as re cipient of the prize in question. This would serve as a stimulus for the young laboratory or clinical worker. Arnold Knapp. T H E PRESENTATION O F PROJECTION SLIDES There can be no doubt of the value of good illustrations in the presentation of a paper at a medical meeting. The recent Academy meeting emphasized some points that would seem to warrant a few comments on this subject. Most medical centers have good photo graphic departments that make creditable projection slides. In addition, the great ad vances in amateur photography have made it possible for the interested individual to produce his own slides, so that there should be no excuse for poor slides. With the advent of adequate projection, there has been a tendency to use 2 by 2 slides. They have many advantages: they are inexpensive, take up little space, and mate-
136
CORRESPONDENCE
rially reduce the weight, an important factor for the traveler. In addition they make color readily available and there can be no doubt of the value of color in projection slides. If the 2 by 2-size slides are used, they must be photographically good, for poor slides of this type, when projected, tend to exaggerate the defects that may be present. There are certain fundamental principles that must be considered if the projection of illus trations is to be effective. Anything that tends to detract from the data the slide is attempt ing to point out must be avoided. If color slides are used they should be properly exposed; also, they must be in focus, as colored illustrations out of focus are very uncomfortable to the observer. They should be mounted in glass so that they can be easily focused and the focus maintained during projection. The cardboard mounts furnished by the processors of color are un satisfactory as the film has a tendency to buckle when it becomes heated. Glass slides also protect the films against damage. It is well to remember that one poor picture may detract so much that the good ones are for gotten. Care should be taken that the illustrations are projected right side out and not "up side down." If the photograph of a drawing is projected with the artist's name "up side down" and backward the audience has a tendency to attempt to decipher the name rather than to observe the data presented. Slides should be clean: finger prints, par ticles of dust, and smears detract a great deal. In the use of slides, it is important that data projected be confined to the area of the slide normally used; the masks for both types of slides are standardized as to the space used for projection. If this is not observed the author may find that the most important part of the slide is off the screen. This hap pened a number of times at the recent meet ing. The above precaution is especially impor tant if 2 by 2 slides are used. When typing is used, a common mistake is to include so many lines that it is not legi ble. In the preparation of typing for slides,
a new ribbon should be employed and not over 12 lines double spaced used. Another fault is attempting to get so much material on a single chart that when it is projected it is not readable. When high-power microphotographs are used, they should always be preceded by a low-power projection so that the audience can orient itself. Slides to be used at a medical meeting should be prepared well in advance so as to allow sufficient time to replace any defective illustrations. When the slides are given to the projec tionist, they should be in proper order and be properly marked in the upper right hand corner by a small paper disc or star. In the preparation of Kodachrome slides, the dull surface should be toward the screen and the slide should be upside down. When the slides are projected, the author should speak from the slide or glance at the slide to be certain that it is in focus since there is a tendency among projectionists to set the instrument at one point and not bother to readjust the focus for various slides. It is usually essential that the author point out the important features of the illustration. If illustrations are to be used during the presentation of a paper, they must pertain to the subject, must be clean, in good focus, and readily readable if the audience is to be held, otherwise, with the lights off, a warm room, and poor slides, there is a tendency to take "40 winks" while the author drones on. Frederick C. Cordes.
CORRESPONDENCE EFFECT OF RETROBULBAR ANESTHESIA ON OCULAR TENSION AND VITREOUS PRESSURE
Editor, American Journal of Ophthalmology: In your October issue I read a paper by Dr. Harold Gifford, Jr., entitled "A study of the effect of retrobulbar anesthesia on ocu lar tension and vitreous pressure." I wish to make a few comments on the paper. Some years ago I made a study of