Gordon Norrie (May 6, 1855 in

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northern ...

– October 11, 1941 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

) was a Danish

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

and

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

of Scottish parentage who was born in

(Elsinore). He was married to

Charlotte Norrie Helga Charlotte Norrie, née Harbou, (12 October 1855–19 December 1940) was a Danish nurse, women's rights activist and educator. She was a major contributor to the development of nursing as an acceptable profession for women and also campaigne ...

, née Harbou (1855–1940), who was a pioneer of modern

nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...

. He studied medicine at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

. Originally trained as a surgeon, his interest later turned to

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

, where he specialized in treatment of the blind. From 1903 to 1938 he worked as an ophthalmologist at the ophthalmology clinic of the Royal Danish Institute for the Blind, later the Statens Øjenklinik (the National Eye Clinic). He is associated with the eponymous "

Norrie disease Norrie disease is a rare disease and genetic disorder that primarily affects the eyes and almost always leads to blindness. It is caused by mutations in the ''Norrin cystine knot growth factor (NDP)'' gene, which is located on the X chromosome. In ...

", a rare form of hereditary blindness that he described in 1927,Norrie G. Causes of blindness in children: twenty-five years experience of Danish Institutes for the blind. Acta Ophthalmnol (Copenhagen) 1927; 5: 357–386 and referred to as ''atrophia oculi congenita''. This disorder is characterized by severe

retinal Retinal (also known as retinaldehyde) is a polyene chromophore. Retinal, bound to proteins called opsins, is the chemical basis of visual phototransduction, the light-detection stage of visual perception (vision). Some microorganisms use retin ...

malformations,

cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble w ...

leukocoria Leukocoria (also white pupillary reflex) is an abnormal white reflection from the retina of the eye. Leukocoria resembles eyeshine, but leukocoria can also occur in animals that lack eyeshine because their retina lacks a ''tapetum lucidum''. Leuko ...

and atrophy of the

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants *Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional enti ...

. The Gordon Norrie Centre for Genetic Eye Diseases at the National Eye Clinic in Hellerup, Copenhagen was named in his honor. The National Eye Clinic is now part of the Kennedy Center in Glostrup, another Copenhagen suburb.

References

International Rasmus Malling Hansen Society, Short Biography

@

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograph ...

The Kennedy Center, Glostrup, Copenhagen
Danish ophthalmologists 1855 births 1941 deaths People from Helsingør {{Denmark-med-bio-stub