Abstract
To the ancient Greeks, glaukos occasionally described diseased eyes, but more typically described healthy irides, which were glaucous (light blue, gray, or green). During the Hippocratic period, a pathologic glaukos pupil indicated a media opacity that was not dark. Although not emphasized by present-day ophthalmologists, the pupil in acute angle closure may appear somewhat green, as the mid-dilated pupil exposes the cataractous lens. The ancient Greeks would probably have described a (normal) green iris or (diseased) green pupil as glaukos. During the early Common Era, eye pain, a glaucous hue, pupil irregularities, and absence of light perception indicated a poor prognosis with couching. Galen associated the glaucous hue with a large, anterior, or hard crystalline lens. Medieval Arabic authors translated glaukos as zarqaa, which also commonly described light irides. Ibn Sina (otherwise known as Avicenna) wrote that the zarqaa hue could occur due to anterior prominence of the lens and could occur in an acquired manner. The disease defined by the glaucous pupil in antiquity is ultimately indeterminate, as the complete syndrome of acute angle closure was not described. Nonetheless, it is intriguing that the glaucous pupil connoted a poor prognosis, and came to be associated with a large, anterior, or hard crystalline lens.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 207-215 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Clinical Ophthalmology |
| Volume | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 2 2015 |
Fingerprint
Keywords
- Couching
- Glaucoma
- History of ophthalmology
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ophthalmology
Cite this
The early history of glaucoma : The glaucous eye (800 BC to 1050 AD). / Leffler, Christopher T.; Schwartz, Stephen; Hadi, Tamer M.; Salman, Ali; Vasuki, Vivek.
In: Clinical Ophthalmology, Vol. 9, 02.02.2015, p. 207-215.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The early history of glaucoma
T2 - The glaucous eye (800 BC to 1050 AD)
AU - Leffler, Christopher T.
AU - Schwartz, Stephen
AU - Hadi, Tamer M.
AU - Salman, Ali
AU - Vasuki, Vivek
PY - 2015/2/2
Y1 - 2015/2/2
N2 - To the ancient Greeks, glaukos occasionally described diseased eyes, but more typically described healthy irides, which were glaucous (light blue, gray, or green). During the Hippocratic period, a pathologic glaukos pupil indicated a media opacity that was not dark. Although not emphasized by present-day ophthalmologists, the pupil in acute angle closure may appear somewhat green, as the mid-dilated pupil exposes the cataractous lens. The ancient Greeks would probably have described a (normal) green iris or (diseased) green pupil as glaukos. During the early Common Era, eye pain, a glaucous hue, pupil irregularities, and absence of light perception indicated a poor prognosis with couching. Galen associated the glaucous hue with a large, anterior, or hard crystalline lens. Medieval Arabic authors translated glaukos as zarqaa, which also commonly described light irides. Ibn Sina (otherwise known as Avicenna) wrote that the zarqaa hue could occur due to anterior prominence of the lens and could occur in an acquired manner. The disease defined by the glaucous pupil in antiquity is ultimately indeterminate, as the complete syndrome of acute angle closure was not described. Nonetheless, it is intriguing that the glaucous pupil connoted a poor prognosis, and came to be associated with a large, anterior, or hard crystalline lens.
AB - To the ancient Greeks, glaukos occasionally described diseased eyes, but more typically described healthy irides, which were glaucous (light blue, gray, or green). During the Hippocratic period, a pathologic glaukos pupil indicated a media opacity that was not dark. Although not emphasized by present-day ophthalmologists, the pupil in acute angle closure may appear somewhat green, as the mid-dilated pupil exposes the cataractous lens. The ancient Greeks would probably have described a (normal) green iris or (diseased) green pupil as glaukos. During the early Common Era, eye pain, a glaucous hue, pupil irregularities, and absence of light perception indicated a poor prognosis with couching. Galen associated the glaucous hue with a large, anterior, or hard crystalline lens. Medieval Arabic authors translated glaukos as zarqaa, which also commonly described light irides. Ibn Sina (otherwise known as Avicenna) wrote that the zarqaa hue could occur due to anterior prominence of the lens and could occur in an acquired manner. The disease defined by the glaucous pupil in antiquity is ultimately indeterminate, as the complete syndrome of acute angle closure was not described. Nonetheless, it is intriguing that the glaucous pupil connoted a poor prognosis, and came to be associated with a large, anterior, or hard crystalline lens.
KW - Couching
KW - Glaucoma
KW - History of ophthalmology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84922352586&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84922352586&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2147/OPTH.S77471
DO - 10.2147/OPTH.S77471
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84922352586
VL - 9
SP - 207
EP - 215
JO - Clinical Ophthalmology
JF - Clinical Ophthalmology
SN - 1177-5467
ER -