REVIEWS 



The Fundus Oculi of Birds | especially as viewed by the | Ophthalmoscope 

 I A study in | comparative anatomy and physiology \ by | Casey 

 Albert Wood \ Illustrated by 145 drawings in the text; also by sixty- 

 one I colored paintings prepared for this work by | Arthur W. Head, 

 F. Z. S. I London | Chicago | The Lakeside Press | 1917 | Cloth, 

 pp. 1-182. Price, $15.00. 



The Fundus Oculi of Birds is evidently a work of love, a 

 byproduct in the life of a busy professional man, the utilization 

 of the skill of the oculist in the study of a specialized branch 

 of ornithology. 



The author clearly shows the difficulty involved in the pro- 

 duction of a work such as he has given us the pleasure of 

 reviewing. As he says (p. 36) : 



The ophthalmologist may be a good observer but a poor artist; con- 

 versely, an expert in the use of brush and pencil may not be sufficiently 

 conversant with normal and pathological, human and comparative oph- 

 thalmoscopy and ophthalmology to enable him to make an intelligent use 

 of his artistic talents. 



Fortunately Doctor Wood has been able to combine his own 

 technic with the rare artistic experience and ability of Mr. A. W. 

 Head, and thus to present a wonderful collection of colored pic- 

 tures of the fundus oculi. 



Following the Introduction and Summary of Conclusions the 

 chapters deal with collection, selection, and preparation of mate- 

 rial and bibliography; anatomy of the fundus organs in birds; 

 ophthalmoscopy of the vertebrate eye; ophthalmoscopy of the 

 fundus in living birds; fundus oculi of birds in prepared speci- 

 mens; effects of domestication on the fundus oculi; the fundus 

 appearances in various orders of birds; classification of the 

 ocular fundi of birds; classification of Aves and the fundus 

 oculi, and the relations of reptilian to avian fundi. 



The fundus oculi of birds, in simple words, is the posterior 

 wall of the eye, and as seen through the pupil in the living bird 

 by means of the ophthalmoscopy, it presents a picture entirely 

 different from that seen in the eye of any other vertebrate. 

 Doctor Wood has examined the eyes of representatives of nearly 

 all the avian orders and 



believes that as the fundus appearances in wild species are probably in- 

 variable and that, as the evidence so far produced shows, each species 



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