A manual of the diseases of the eye, or, Treatise on ophthalmology / by S. Littell ; revised and enlarged, by Hugh Houston.

Date:
1838
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A manual of the diseases of the eye, or, Treatise on ophthalmology / by S. Littell ; revised and enlarged, by Hugh Houston. 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.

    33/334 (page 11)
    WOUNDS OP THE CONJUNCTIVA. [Wounds of the conjunctiva, with loss of substance, are not in general dangerous, but when the part which covers the cornea has been injured, there often results an opaque spot which impedes vision; but this is in general easily removed. (See Conjunctivitis, Nebula, &c.)] WOUNDS OF THE CORNEA. Slight injuries of the cornea in persons from any cause predisposed to inflammation, are often followed by serious consequences. [Wounds of the cornea always leave citra- trices more or less opaque. When the superficial layers are wounded a cure may be easily effected; but when the wound is deeper, it will cause hernia of the cornea; and if the membrane be pierced or opened, the aqueous humour will escape. The iris may be applied to the cornea and adhere to it, or may form a hernia in the wound, and sometimes contract adhesions with it.] Walther states, that in a small district in Germany, fifty or sixty eyes are annually destroyed from wounds inflicted by the beards or heads of grain; and similar accidents are not uncommon during the harvest season in our own country. Pene- trating wounds of the cornea are followed by the escape of the aqueous humour, and unless the opening be very small, prolapsus of the iris is not an unfrequent conse- quence. The fluid is speedily reproduced after the clo- sure of the wound, and no particular treatment is required, other than that which may be necessary to prevent or subdue inflammation. The lids should be closed, and covered with a compress moistened by some refrigerating