528 OPHT II 
froft, which, combined, deftroy the beauty of the foliage, 
if not the plant itfelf; in the autumn, before any of the 
ethers make their appearance, this fpecies emerges. 
OPHTHAL'MIA, or Oph'thalmy, f. [from otp^xXyoc, 
Gr. the eye.] Inflammation of the eye.—By reafon of 
fome particular diftemper of the eyes, as exulceration, 
fillula, ophthalmy. Ferrand on Love Melanch. 164.0. 
Inflammation of the eye originates in the fame man¬ 
ner, and demands the fame kind of treatment, as inflam¬ 
mation in other parts of the body : but of all the difeafes 
of the eye, fays the experienced Richter, ophthalmy is 
the moll frequent. There are very few difeales of the 
eye which do not fometimes arife from it, and, in many 
of them, it is a neceflary fymptom or confequence. The 
ciiaracleriftic figns of thediforderare pain and rednefs : the 
latter is particularly remarkable, as the healthy eye exhi¬ 
bits no red appearance whatfoever. It does notconftantly 
happen, however, that rednefs is an obvious fymptom of 
an inflamed eye ; fome violent ophthalmies are laid to be 
attended with little or no preternatural rednefs of the af¬ 
fected organ. Belides, even when the inflamed part is 
confiderably reddened, it frequently occurs that the 
change is concealed by reafon of the impoflibility of ma¬ 
king the patient open his eye. The increafed rednefs is 
always molt confpicuous in the white of the eye ; but 
often, in fevere ophthalmies, the tranfparent cornea alfo 
becomes red, and bleeds, if punCtured or cut. The 
aqueous humour has been obferved to become of a red 
colour, an event which no doubt proceeded from extra- 
vafated blood ; and fometimes fmall velicles, full of this 
fluid, have been formed upon the cornea. The eye-lids, 
likewife, not unfrequently partake of the inflammatory 
rednefs. In cafe's where the eye either cannot or mult 
not be opened, it may always be inferred, that the eye¬ 
ball is inflamed, if the lower edge of the upper eye-lid, 
or the whole of this part, fliould appear to be affedled 
with fwelling and rednefs. 
The pain is the principal fymptom of ophthalmy ; and 
indeed, when the eye cannot or mult not be opened, it is 
the only one. It is of different kinds. In mild ophthal- 
mies the patients experience a fenfe of heat, or itching, 
or a fort of preifure, that feems as if it proceeded from 
the lodgment of a particle of fand underneath the eye¬ 
lids ; but, in fevere cafes, the pain is of a burning, tenfe, 
fhooting, throbbing, defeription. When the patient has 
a fenfation as if the orbit were too fmall, and as if the 
eye-ball protruded from not having fufiicient room ; and 
when he fullers, particularly about the eye-brow, a vio¬ 
lent, opprelfive, tenfe, pain, fometimes extending from 
the affefted fide of the head to the occiput; it may be con¬ 
cluded, without rifle of miltake, that the inflammation 
has attained the high-eft degree of violence, and that there 
is imminent danger of fuppuration. 
But even pain is not to be regarded as a ccnftant and 
eflential fymptom of ophthalmy. There are, fays Rich¬ 
ter, fomeievere ophthalmies, which are accompanied with 
little or no pain ; while certain milder cafes of inflamma¬ 
tion of the eye fometimes prove exceflively painful. Ex¬ 
amples of this kind are fubjedt to variety. Hardy, un¬ 
feeling, patients, frequently make little complaint about 
pain ; and a furgeon, who trufts to their alfurance that 
the fymptom is moderate or trifling, frequently finds, very 
unexpectedly, upon opening the eye-lids after a few days, 
the eye molt vehemently inflamed, nay, fometimes actually 
in a ftateof'luppuration. Irritable fubjeCts, on the contrary, 
often cannot bear a very' flight degree of pain, and make 
the burgeon have recourle to means which are tmnecefiary. 
Experience proves alfo, that, in the majority of cafes, the 
pain is nioft violent at the commencement of the inflam¬ 
mation, at the very moment when the diforder firft origi¬ 
nates; and that it afterwards diminifhes, and even en¬ 
tirely lubfides, notwithllanding the inflammation conti¬ 
nues in an unabated degree. It frequently happens, after 
an operation on the eye, that the patient only experiences 
pain for a few hours in the courfe of the firft night, and 
A L M I A. 
afterwards remains completely eafy. The furgeon fliould 
never fuller himfelf to be deceived by this ftiort duration 
and quick fubfldence of the pain ; for, under thefe cir- 
cumftances, the eye is often found moft ferioufly affeCted 
with inflammation. Old chronic ophthalmies are not 
uncommonly attended with confiderable rednefs, and with 
little or no pain. Laftiy, it deferves to be noticed, that 
the pain accompanying inflammation of the eyes is forae- 
times periodical. In the generality of fuch cafes, the 
patients only experience pain'an hour or two in the 
night-time, and, during the day, are quite free from any 
degree of fullering. Thefe (hort paroxyfms of pain, and 
long intervals of eafe, mull not be received as a criterion 
of the mildnefs of the inflammation ; for the eye may 
yet be violenr'y inflamed. The furgeon mull not trull 
to any Angle fymptom; but form a judgment from the 
coniideration of all the circumllances of the cafe toge¬ 
ther. 
Swelling, which is an ordinary 7 fymptom of inflamma¬ 
tion of other parts, is alfo fometimes obferved in inflamma¬ 
tion of the eyes, being particularly obvious in that portion 
of the conjurfeliva which covers the white of the eye. In 
violent ophthalmies, this membrane fwells to fuch a de¬ 
gree, that it envelopes the cornea, and lies in a thick 
fold between the eye-lids, protruding betwixt thefe 
parts, and hindering them from being (hut. In this fort 
of cafe, the whole eye-ball refeinbles a piece of red flelh. 
In fevere ophthalmies, the tranfparent cornea likewife 
fometimes fwells very confiderably, fo as to become four, 
and even eight, times as thick as it is in the healthy ftate. 
This tunic is generally rendered at the fame time white 
and foft. When fuch thickening extends inward, the 
anterior chamber of the aqueous humour is lelfened, and 
may 7 be quite obliterated, the inner furface of the cornea 
being in dole contadl with the iris. 
In cafes of ophthalmy, fever is alfo frequently an at¬ 
tendant. According to Richter, it is worthy of parti¬ 
cular notice, that the fever is not always of one and the 
fame kind ; but prefents itfelf under three varieties. 
Sometimes it is the effe£l of the fame caufe which pro¬ 
duces the inflammation ; and, in this circumftance, the 
fame means of cure are indicated, both for the fever 
and the ophthalmy. The ophthalmy proceeding from 
dil'order of the galtric organ, affords an illullration of 
the preceding obfervation ; emetics and purgative me¬ 
dicines ferving, in this inftance, to cure both the fever 
and the inflammation of the eyes. The fever is lome- 
times the confequence of the inflammation : here the 
local affeiSlion precedes the conltitutional one; the latter 
being always in proportion to the former, moderate when 
it is moderate, violent when it is violent. This kind of 
fever requires the employment of antiphlogiftic means, 
whereby its caufe, viz. the inflammation, is removed, and 
the name of inflammatory fever is particularly applicable 
to it. After lurgical operations on the eye, and other inju¬ 
ries of this organ, a fever often arifes even before the 
flighted: inflammation is difcernible. It appears to be 
owing to the patient’s apprehenfion before the operation, 
and to the pain which he has fullered ; and it demands the 
employment of Toothing anodyne means, efpecially 7 opium 
combined with antimonials. 
With relpedl to the duration of ophthalmies, they are 
divided into the acute and chronic. The generality of 
acute inflammations of the eyes at lalt terminate in the 
chronic form of the complaint. The attacks both of acute 
and chronic ophthalmies alternately come on and dilap- 
pear at certain times, and the dil'order is then termed pe¬ 
riodical. All thefe varieties, in the courfe of the difeafe, 
permit us to draw no inferences which can be depended 
upon with regard to the proper mode of treatment. The 
fame caufe fometimes produces an acute, fometimes a 
chronic, fometimes a periodical, ophthalmy. Nay, the 
fame inflammation of the eyes frequently changes its cha- 
raifler, becoming, in turns, acute, chronic, and periodi¬ 
cal. From fuch variations alfo no certain information 
z can 
