Author: A. Maitland Ramsay

Publisher:

Published: 2015-07-21

Total Pages: 606

ISBN-13: 9781331952398

Excerpt from Clinical Ophthalmology for the General Practitioner The author spent ten years in general practice before he specialised in Eye Diseases, and that experience has greatly influenced his outlook on Ophthalmology. He has written this book, which is the outcome of his personal clinical experience, for the busy general practitioner, and more especially for the country doctor. His aim has been to indicate, as far as possible, the cases which the general practitioner can treat safely on his own responsibility, and those in which it is desirable to obtain a consultation with an expert. He has tried to bring the treatment of diseases of the eye into line with every-day practice, and to establish the intimate connection between the eye and other parts of the body. A careful study of the eye, in many instances, gives warning of incipient general disease, at a time when treatment offers a reasonable prospect of success, and in cases presenting symptoms of advanced cardiac or renal disease, an ophthalmoscopic examination may often afford valuable assistance in determining which of the two is the primary disorder. The practitioner can also see in the eye the working of a morbid process, and can observe its results. In pneumococcal ulcer, for example, he can see how a microbe acts when it invades the tissues from the outside, and in interstitial keratitis and also in iritis he can see the action on the tissues of a micro-organism conveyed by the blood. In phlyctenular conjunctivitis, on the other hand, he can observe the important influence of soil on all forms of infection; while in chronic glaucoma he has, in all probability, an example of the degenerative changes in structure which occur as a result of the action of chemical toxins due to disordered metabolism. The book is not meant to take the place of a systematic treatise on Ophthalmology. It is purely clinical, deals with the symptomatology of Eye Diseases, and is an attempt to present the subject as the general practitioner meets it in his daily practice. Each chapter is so far complete in itself; and while that necessarily involves some repetition, it is hoped that the doctor will not find the arrangement a disadvantage, but rather a help in so far as it may enable him the more quickly to obtain the information he seeks in any particular case. The author desires to thank Dr. George Hunter for reading the manuscript and for many valuable suggestions, and Dr. Walter H. Kiep for assistance in the preparation of the Glossary and in the description of the plates. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.