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The Truth about Your Eyes
CORRESPONDEN CE
1616
year, and at least one year in general prac tice. Preparation for ophthalmology requires three years of clinical experience, at least two of which must be in a Norwegian clinic of ophthalmology. Since 1936, credit is al lowed for scientific contributions, laboratory work, and supervised private practice. Final authorization is in the hands of a committee of four certified ophthalmologists, of which the professor of ophthalmology at the university is a member ex officio. There is no formal examination. A list of those certified in the various specialties is printed annually in the Yearbook of the Norwegian Union of Physicians. The certified specialist is permitted to announce his status in the telephone-directory listing and local news papers ; and this practice is general. (Signed) G. W. Keyser, Oslo, Norway.
BOOK REVIEWS T H E TRUTH ABOUT YOUR EYES. By Derrick
Vail, M.D. New York, Farrar, Straus and Company, Inc., 1950. Clothbound, 180 pages, 6 figures, and index. Price: $2.50. Within the confines of a small book, Vail successfully deals with every aspect of the eye and vision of interest to the public "in a way that is informative without being alarming." Optometrical quacks are exposed yet recognition is accorded those qualified optometrists "who give the people ethical service in the proper sphere of optometry, which in the final analysis is the fitting of healthy eyes with proper glasses." Although aye exercises of the Bates pat tern are a ridiculous delusion, actual psycho logic visual training is admittedly of some value, not as a substitute for glasses but as an added help. That the education of a child proceed unhandicapped by visual or func tional defects is a responsibility of parents and teachers. Dyslexia can often be remedied by simply going back to the old-fashioned phonetic form of instruction.
The layman—be he or she patient, parent, teacher, student, secretary, or nurse—will find in this work the meaning of 20/20 vi sion, suppression amblyopia, narrow- and wide-angle glaucoma, the prognosis of vari ous operations, and a frank evaluation of all new "cures." Tactful propaganda for the Eye-Bank is appropriately inserted among the broad im plications of an efficient program for the pre vention of blindness. Incidentally, ophthal mologists should demonstrate by example the courage of their convictions in this respect! The eye care procurable by the American public today is most trustworthy since— "Medical education in our country, so far free of political and government control, is the finest to be found anywhere." The basic facts of ophthalmology, stated in this volume clearly and vividly, are well within the grasp of any literate layman. James E. Lebensohn. TRANSACTIONS
OF THE AMERICAN
OPH-
Philadelphia, Wm. F. Fell Co., 1949, volume 47, 776 pages. At the 85th annual meeting of the Ameri can Ophthalmological Society, held on June 2, 3, and 4, 1949, the following scientific papers were presented: 1. "Late fistulization of operative wounds: Diagnosis and treatment," Dr. John H. Dunnington and Dr. Ellen Regan. The early signs are profuse lacrimation, hypotony, and ciliary tenderness. Often a cystoid area is present. If leakage continues visual acuity may decrease and edema of the retina and optic nerve may occur. The fistula may be closed successfully by cauterizing the tract, suturing the tract edges, and covering the area with a sliding conjunctival flap. 2. "Simultaneous bilateral primary ocular malignant melanoma," Dr. Frederick C. Cordes and Dr. Robert D. Cook. The seventh case in the literature, confirmed by micro scopic examination, is reported. 3. "Nevus flammeus associated with glauTHALMOLOGICAL
SOCIETY.
1616
year, and at least one year in general prac tice. Preparation for ophthalmology requires three years of clinical experience, at least two of which must be in a Norwegian clinic of ophthalmology. Since 1936, credit is al lowed for scientific contributions, laboratory work, and supervised private practice. Final authorization is in the hands of a committee of four certified ophthalmologists, of which the professor of ophthalmology at the university is a member ex officio. There is no formal examination. A list of those certified in the various specialties is printed annually in the Yearbook of the Norwegian Union of Physicians. The certified specialist is permitted to announce his status in the telephone-directory listing and local news papers ; and this practice is general. (Signed) G. W. Keyser, Oslo, Norway.
BOOK REVIEWS T H E TRUTH ABOUT YOUR EYES. By Derrick
Vail, M.D. New York, Farrar, Straus and Company, Inc., 1950. Clothbound, 180 pages, 6 figures, and index. Price: $2.50. Within the confines of a small book, Vail successfully deals with every aspect of the eye and vision of interest to the public "in a way that is informative without being alarming." Optometrical quacks are exposed yet recognition is accorded those qualified optometrists "who give the people ethical service in the proper sphere of optometry, which in the final analysis is the fitting of healthy eyes with proper glasses." Although aye exercises of the Bates pat tern are a ridiculous delusion, actual psycho logic visual training is admittedly of some value, not as a substitute for glasses but as an added help. That the education of a child proceed unhandicapped by visual or func tional defects is a responsibility of parents and teachers. Dyslexia can often be remedied by simply going back to the old-fashioned phonetic form of instruction.
The layman—be he or she patient, parent, teacher, student, secretary, or nurse—will find in this work the meaning of 20/20 vi sion, suppression amblyopia, narrow- and wide-angle glaucoma, the prognosis of vari ous operations, and a frank evaluation of all new "cures." Tactful propaganda for the Eye-Bank is appropriately inserted among the broad im plications of an efficient program for the pre vention of blindness. Incidentally, ophthal mologists should demonstrate by example the courage of their convictions in this respect! The eye care procurable by the American public today is most trustworthy since— "Medical education in our country, so far free of political and government control, is the finest to be found anywhere." The basic facts of ophthalmology, stated in this volume clearly and vividly, are well within the grasp of any literate layman. James E. Lebensohn. TRANSACTIONS
OF THE AMERICAN
OPH-
Philadelphia, Wm. F. Fell Co., 1949, volume 47, 776 pages. At the 85th annual meeting of the Ameri can Ophthalmological Society, held on June 2, 3, and 4, 1949, the following scientific papers were presented: 1. "Late fistulization of operative wounds: Diagnosis and treatment," Dr. John H. Dunnington and Dr. Ellen Regan. The early signs are profuse lacrimation, hypotony, and ciliary tenderness. Often a cystoid area is present. If leakage continues visual acuity may decrease and edema of the retina and optic nerve may occur. The fistula may be closed successfully by cauterizing the tract, suturing the tract edges, and covering the area with a sliding conjunctival flap. 2. "Simultaneous bilateral primary ocular malignant melanoma," Dr. Frederick C. Cordes and Dr. Robert D. Cook. The seventh case in the literature, confirmed by micro scopic examination, is reported. 3. "Nevus flammeus associated with glauTHALMOLOGICAL
SOCIETY.