Karl Ernst Theodor Schweigger (28 October 1830 – 24 August 1905) was a German ophthalmologist who was a native of

Halle an der Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anh ...

. He was the son of scientist Johann Salomo Christoph Schweigger (1779–1857), inventor of an early

galvanometer A galvanometer is an electromechanical measuring instrument for electric current. Early galvanometers were uncalibrated, but improved versions, called ammeters, were calibrated and could measure the flow of current more precisely. A galvan ...

. He studied medicine in

Erlangen Erlangen (; East Franconian: ''Erlang'', Bavarian: ''Erlanga'') is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 116,062 inhab ...

and Halle, earning his doctorate in 1852. Subsequently, he became a medical assistant to Peter Krukenberg (1788–1865) at the University of Halle, and from 1856 worked under anatomist

Heinrich Müller Heinrich Müller may refer to: * Heinrich Müller (cyclist) (born 1926), Swiss cyclist * Heinrich Müller (footballer, born 1888) (1888–1957), Swiss football player and manager * Heinrich Müller (footballer, born 1909) (1909–2000), Austrian ...

(1820–1864) at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...

. In Würzburg he learned microscopic

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

and

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

of the eye, thus developing an interest in

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 ...

. Later he moved to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, where he spent six years as an assistant to

Albrecht von Graefe Albrecht von Graefe may refer to: * Albrecht von Graefe (ophthalmologist) (1828-1870), Prussian opthalmologist * Albrecht von Graefe (politician) Albrecht von Graefe (1 January 1868 – 18 April 1933) was a German landowner and right-wing ...

(1828–1870). In 1868 he was appointed professor of ophthalmology at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

, and in 1871 succeeded Albrecht von Graefe as chair of ophthalmology at the Charité-

, a position he would hold for 28 years. He is remembered for his work involving microscopic pathology of the eye. He also made contributions in his research of

strabismus Strabismus is a vision disorder in which the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. The eye that is focused on an object can alternate. The condition may be present occasionally or constantly. If present during a ...

and

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye rem ...

. Beginning in 1882 he was co-editor of Hermann Knapp's ''Archiv für Augenheilkunde''. He was author of a textbook on ophthalmology called ''Handbuch der speciellen Augenheilkunde'' that was later translated into English a
''Handbook of ophthalmology''
(1878, from the 3rd German edition). He also published an influential book on

ophthalmoscopy Ophthalmoscopy, also called funduscopy, is a test that allows a health professional to see inside the fundus of the eye and other structures using an ophthalmoscope (or funduscope). It is done as part of an eye examination and may be done as part ...

titled ''Vorlesungen über den Gebrauch des Augenspiegels'' (1864). Schweigger died in

Associated eponym

* "Schweigger's perimeter": Handheld instrument used to measure the extent of a

visual field The visual field is the "spatial array of visual sensations available to observation in introspectionist psychological experiments". Or simply, visual field can be defined as the entire area that can be seen when an eye is fixed straight at a point ...

OHSU Historical Collections & Archives
Schweigger's perimeter

References

Modern Ophthalmology in North-West Germany

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schweigger, Karl Ernst Theodor 1830 births 1905 deaths German ophthalmologists People from Halle (Saale) People from the Province of Saxony University of Erlangen-Nuremberg alumni Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni Academic staff of the University of Göttingen Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Physicians of the Charité