Observations on hemeralopia; or, Nocturnal blindness, with cases, and practical illustrations / by Andrew Simpson.

Date:
1819
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on hemeralopia; or, Nocturnal blindness, with cases, and practical illustrations / by Andrew Simpson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    he adds, “ quod in feminam bene respondentibus menstruis non eadit.” This is a very concise nota- tion of this affection, and in his statement, the philologist will ]>erceive the strongest evidence of the physician s knowledge of his vernacular Language. If Celsus had employed the word vident, instead of “ cemunt,” this would neces- sarily liave included or expressed a complete abolition of the power of vision in the night, but the term he has used, woidd literally suggest that those affected with this ocular ailment, could not distinguish surrounding objects in the night- time—If Celsus had employed the generic term, videre, the nature of his description would have been materially different. Videre, (in the infini- tive, as thus implying the verbal essence,) as a generic term, signifies, to perceive the existence of any object by the eye, when the organ is in a sound state, and the object is neither hid- den, nor too far from it. “ Cernere” (the word used by the Roman physician) differs from the former in denoting the most perfect exercise of I the sense of sight, so as to discriminate the object ' seen from every thing with which it might be confounded. When thus applied to those la- bouring under the u oeulorum imbeeillitas,” it must convey the notion that although the distinct vision implied in “cernere” be lost (in the noc- turnal obscurity for example), that common,