Karl Stellwag von Carion (28 January 1823 – 21 November 1904) was an Austrian

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 ...

who was a native of Langendorf, a village in

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

. He studied medicine at

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where in 1847 he received his medical doctorate. Following graduation he was an assistant in the department of

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 ...

Vienna General Hospital The Vienna General Hospital (german: Allgemeines Krankenhaus der Stadt Wien), usually abbreviated to AKH, is the general hospital of the city of Vienna, Austria. It is also the city's university hospital, and the site of the Medical Univer ...

. In 1854 he was a private lecturer at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

, where in 1857 he attained the title of "professor extraordinarius". In 1873 he became a full professor of ophthalmology at the university. During his years in Vienna, he also taught classes at Josephs Academy (Josephinum). Stellwag von Carion made contributions in his investigations of

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 ...

, accommodation and

light polarization Polarization (American and British English spelling differences, also polarisation) is a property applying to transverse waves that specifies the geometrical orientation of the oscillations. In a transverse wave, the direction of the oscillation ...

, and is remembered for his extensive research involving anomalies of

refraction In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomeno ...

. In 1856 he coined the term "

ectopia lentis Ectopia lentis is a displacement or malposition of the eye's crystalline lens from its normal location. A partial dislocation of a lens is termed lens subluxation or subluxated lens; a complete dislocation of a lens is termed lens luxation or lu ...

", when describing a patient who had congenital lens dislocation. He was the author of many works in the field of ophthalmology, including the widely popular ''Lehrbuch der praktischen Augenheilkunde'', a book that was later translated into Italian, Hungarian and English
''Treatise on the diseases of the eye, including the anatomy of the organ''
. His name is lent to "

Stellwag's sign Stellwag's sign is a sign of infrequent or incomplete blinking associated with exophthalmos or Graves orbitopathy. It is accompanied by Dalrymple's sign, which is a retraction of the upper eyelids resulting in an apparent widening of the palpebra ...

", an indication of infrequent or incomplete blinking associated with

exophthalmos Exophthalmos (also called exophthalmus, exophthalmia, proptosis, or exorbitism) is a bulging of the eye anteriorly out of the orbit. Exophthalmos can be either bilateral (as is often seen in Graves' disease) or unilateral (as is often seen in ...

Selected publications

* ''Theorie der Augenspiegel : auf elementarem Wege aus den Grundsätzen der Optik entwickelt'' (

Ophthalmoscope 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 ...

theory); 1854. * ''Die Ophthalmologie vom naturwissenschaftlichen Standpunkte'' (Ophthalmology from a natural scientific standpoint); 1853–58. * ''Lehrbuch der praktischen Augenheilkunde'' (Handbook of practical ophthalmology); 1862 * ''Atlas der pathologischen Histologie des Auges'' (Atlas of pathological

histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vis ...

of the eyes); (in collaboration with, and published by

Carl Wedl Carl Wedl (14 October 1815 – 21 September 1891) was an Austrian pathologist who was a native of Vienna. In 1841 he obtained his doctorate in Vienna, and subsequently practiced medicine in Ischl and Salzburg. In 1844 he took a scientific jou ...

(1815-1891). * "Treatise on the diseases of the eye including the anatomy of the organ". Translated and edited by D.B. St.John Roosa, C.S. Bull and C.E. Hackley. 4th edition. William Wood & Co. New York. 1873. 915p. 124 ill.

References

Public Med Central
(obituary of Karl Stellwag von Carion)
Johns Hopkins University Libraries
(publications by Stellwag von Carion)

Ectopia Lentis {{DEFAULTSORT:Stellwag von Carion, Karl Ophthalmologists Academic staff of the University of Vienna 1823 births 1904 deaths Physicians from the Austrian Empire Physicians from Austria-Hungary