CHAPTER XC 



DISEASES OF THE ORGANS OF SPECIAL 



SENSE 



General remarks — Diseases of the eye — Diseases of the ear — Diseases of the 



nose — References. 



GENERAL REMARKS. 



It is not usual to consider the diseases of the organs of special sense 

 in a work on tropical medicine, but all the diseases of the tropics 

 are being carefully studied at the present time, and therefore we 

 are of the opinion that a few cursory remarks on the above subjects, 

 from the point of view of the general practitioner, may be of some 

 interest. 



DISEASES OF THE EYE. 



The history of the study of eye disease in the tropics has still 

 to be written, but anyone interested in the general history of this 

 branch of medical science is referred to Hirsch, ' Geschichte der 

 Augenheilkunde ' (Leipzig, 1877), which, though issued as a separate 

 little volume, was originally part of Graefe's and Saemich's ' Hand- 

 buch der Augenheilkunde,' vol. vii. In this book there is an 

 account of the ophthalmology known in ancient Egypt and India, 

 as well as the history before and during the Alexandrine period of 

 medical development. It will suffice to say that eye disease is 

 described and treated in the Ebers papyrus, and that Susruta 

 mentioned 76 diseases of the eye, of which 9 were of the joinings 

 of the eye, 21 of the eyelids, 11 of the sclerotic, 4 of the black part 

 of the eye, 17 of the eye in general, 12 of the true organ of vision, 

 and 2 were injuries. In recent years the^work of the ophthalmic 

 surgeons of India and Egypt and elsewhere has been beneficial, 

 not merely in an extension of knowledge, but more importantly in 

 benefit to the communities of the lands in which they live. Excel- 

 lent work has been done by the travelling ophthalmic hospitals, 

 such as those provided by private generosity in Egypt, which go 

 from district to district. By this means, natives at a distance from 

 main hospitals are enabled to obtain expert advice and treatment, 

 which can be carried on in the interval between a visit by the local 

 hospital and dispensary. 



Another excellent institution of more or less recent origin is 

 the Central Ophthalmic Hospital, to which the patient can be 



1993 



