A handbook of the diseases of the eye and their treatment / by Sir Henry R. Swanzy and Louis Werner.
- Swanzy, Henry R. (Henry Rosborough), 1843-1913
- Date:
- 1912
Licence: In copyright
Credit: A handbook of the diseases of the eye and their treatment / by Sir Henry R. Swanzy and Louis Werner. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.
91/700 (page 63)
![the level of the capsular surface. This condition is called central capsular cataract, or pyramidal cataract, and rarely results from corneal perforation in adults. In cases of blennorrhcea neonatorum an inflammatory swelling of the joints, so-called gonorrhoeal arthritis, is very occasionally seen. The gonococcus has been found in the fluid removed from the joints in some cases, while in others only the usual pyogenic cocci were present. Even more rarely do peri- and endo-carditis, pleuritis, and meningitis occur. Metastatic Gonorrhceal Ophthalmia is sometimes met with in adolescents or adults, as an accompaniment of gonorrhceal rheu- matism. It is apt to occur with cessation of the urethral dis- charge. The disease presents the appearance of a moderate catar- rhal ophthalmia with scanty secretion, but is occasionally com- plicated with keratitis, iritis, or scleritis. It shows a great tendency to recur with a relapse of the rheumatism. It is believed that the gonococci are carried to the eye through the circulation, but gonococci are rarely found in the conjunctival discharge. * Membranous Conjunctivitis.—This disease is characterised by the existence of a fibrinous exudation, either on the surface or in the substance of the conjunctiva, in addition to the other symp- toms of inflammation. It was formerly believed, on purely clinical grounds, that the mild form of the disease, known as croupous conjunctivitis, was totally different in nature from the severe or diphtheritic form, and later on this view seemed to be borne out by the discovery of the Klebs-Loeffler bacillus in the diphtheritic cases ; but further experience of the bacteriology of membranous conjunctivitis has altered this view. Not only is the diphtheria bacillus found in mild croupous cases, but any of the micro-organisms which commonly cause conjunctivitis, may give rise to fibrinous exudations and the formation of membranes. The same condition in varying degrees of severity can be produced by chemical irritants, such as lime, ammonia, etc., and also by jequirity. Lastly, the diphtheria bacillus may, in rare cases, lead to_a simple catarrhal inflammation without the production of a false* membrane. The presence of a membrane therefore is only a symptom, and is not necessarily pathognomonic, although it is very suggestive of the K]cl)s-Loefflcr bacillus as the cause. In severe cases strepto- and staphylo-cocci are generally associ-](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21512589_0091.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
