Ludwig Laqueur (July 25, 1839 – April 20, 1909) was a German

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 ...

born in Festenberg, Silesia. He was the father of historian Richard Laqueur (1881–1959). He studied medicine in Breslau and Berlin, earning his doctorate in 1860. From 1863 to 1869 he worked as an assistant at

Richard Liebreich Richard Liebreich (30 June 1830 – 19 January 1917) was a German ophthalmologist and physiologist who was a native of Königsberg. He was of Jewish ancestry. In 1853 he earned his doctorate at Halle, and from 1854 until 1862 was an assistant t ...

's ophthalmological hospital in Paris. In 1872 he became an associate professor at the University of Strasbourg, where in 1877 he was appointed a full professor of ophthalmology. Among his assistants at Strasbourg was Paul Silex (1858-1929). Laqueur is remembered for his research of physostigmine, a chemical substance found in the Calabar bean (''Physostigma venenosa'') of West Africa. In 1876 he published ''Ueber eine neue therapeutische Verwendung des Physostigmin'', suggesting the use of physostigmine for the treatment of glaucoma . Laqueur noticed that extracts of the Calabar bean significantly lowered intraocular pressure. He could attest to these results first-hand, because Laqueur suffered from glaucoma, a fact that was kept secret from his medical colleagues until after his death. Laqueur died in

Santa Margherita Ligure Santa Margherita Ligure ( lij, Santa Margaita) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about southeast of Genoa, in the area traditionally known as Tigullio. It has a port, used for b ...

on April 20, 1909.

Written works

* ''Etudes sur les Affections Sympathiques de l'oeil'', Paris, 1869 * ''Ueber eine neue therapeutische Verwendung des Physostigmin'', 1876 * ''Ueber Atropin und Physostigmin'' in Albrecht von Graefe's Archiv für Augenheilkunde xxiii. * ''Das Prodromalstadium des Glaucoms'', ib. xxvi. * ''Die Lage des Centrums der Macula Lutea im Menschlichen Gehirn'' in Rudolf Virchow's Archiv clviii. * "Lateral Illumination" in "System of the Diseases of the Eye" edited by Norris and Oliva, Philadelphia, 1897.

References

Ophthalmology's Botanical Heritage at Herbalgram.org
* Hans-Peter Laqueur (Ed.): ''Louis Laqueur: Aus meinem Leben, Erinnerungen'', Nicosia 1997

External links

Jewish Encyclopedia
(biography) German ophthalmologists Silesian Jews 1839 births 1909 deaths Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg People from Twardogóra People from the Province of Silesia {{Germany-med-bio-stub