Marc Amsler (born 5 February 1891 in

Vevey Vevey (; frp, Vevê; german: label=former German, Vivis) is a town in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the district of ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

– died 3 May 1968) was a professor 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 ...

in the Eye Clinic at the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

. He took the position as professor of ophthalmology in Zurich in 1944. His predecessor was Prof.

Alfred Vogt Alfred Vogt (31 October 1879 – 10 December 1943) was a Swiss ophthalmologist, known for his development of techniques for retinoscopy and the surgical management of retinal detachment. Alfred Vogt received his doctorate from the University of ...

. Prior to assuming the position at Zurich, Dr. Amsler was chief ophthalmologist in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

, since 1935. His predecessor there, under whom he worked beforehand, was

Jules Gonin Jules Gonin (10 August 1870 – May 1935) was a professor of ophthalmology in Lausanne who pioneered the procedure of ignipuncture, the first successful surgery for the treatment of retinal detachments. Early life Jules grew in a family with cul ...

. During his time in Lausanne, Amsler was instrumental in creating the Jules

Gonin Medal The Gonin Medal is an international award given to one ophthalmologist every four years by the International Council of Ophthalmology. The award is named in honor of Swiss ophthalmologist Jules Gonin. It has been said to represent "the highest achie ...

which is awarded every four years and is considered the highest honor in ophthalmology.Landau, D; Bigar, F; Landau K. Die Geschichte der Zürcher Augenklinik von 1907 bis 2007. Bottighofen, Switzerland 2012, p. 76 Amsler was professor and chief of the Zurich Eye Clinic until 1961. His successor was Rudolf Witmer. He is best known for the

Amsler grid The Amsler grid, used since 1945, is a grid of horizontal and vertical lines used to monitor a person's central visual field. The grid was developed by Marc Amsler, a Swiss people, Swiss ophthalmologist. It is a diagnostic tool that aids in the ...

test. The Amsler grid was an improvement over the initial work done by the ophthalmologist Edmond Landolt. The grid tests the function of the

macula The macula (/ˈmakjʊlə/) or macula lutea is an oval-shaped pigmented area in the center of the retina of the human eye and in other animals. The macula in humans has a diameter of around and is subdivided into the umbo, foveola, foveal avas ...

, a part of the

retina The retina (from la, rete "net") is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then ...

, and enables patients to self-test for and monitor

metamorphopsia Metamorphopsia (from , ) is a type of distorted vision in which a grid of straight lines appears wavy and parts of the grid may appear blank. People can first notice they suffer with the condition when looking at mini-blinds in their home. For examp ...

, a symptom of early stages of

macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Over time, however, som ...

. He also contributed to the progress in the understanding of

uveitis Uveitis () is inflammation of the uvea, the pigmented layer of the eye between the inner retina and the outer fibrous layer composed of the sclera and cornea. The uvea consists of the middle layer of pigmented vascular structures of the eye and ...

. Furthermore, he published works on

keratoconus Keratoconus (KC) is a disorder of the eye that results in progressive thinning of the cornea. This may result in blurry vision, double vision, nearsightedness, irregular astigmatism, and light sensitivity leading to poor quality-of-life. Usu ...

. In 1951, Amsler performed the first

corneal transplantation Corneal transplantation, also known as corneal grafting, is a surgical procedure where a damaged or diseased cornea is replaced by donated corneal tissue (the graft). When the entire cornea is replaced it is known as penetrating keratoplasty a ...

at the Zurich Eye Clinic.

Selected works

* ''Le keratocone fruste au Javal''. Ophthalmologica, Basel, 1938, 96: 77–83. * ''Heterochromie de Fuchs et fragilite vasculaire'' (with

Florian Verrey Florian Verrey (7 October 1911, in Lausanne – 14 September 1976) was a Swiss ophthalmologist. He studied medicine at the University of Lausanne, and from 1939 served as an assistant under Marc Amsler Marc Amsler (born 5 February 1891 in Vev ...

). Ophthalmologica, Basel, 1946, 111: 177. * ''Lehrbuch der Augenheilkunde''. Basel, Karger, 1948. 858 pages. M. Amsler, A. Bruckner,

Adolphe Franceschetti Adolphe Franceschetti (11 October 1896, in Zürich – 3 March 1968, in Geneva) was a Swiss ophthalmologist. He studied medicine at the University of Zürich, where he also spent several years as an assistant in its ophthalmological clinic. At ...

Hans Goldmann Hans Goldmann (20 November 1899 in Komotau, Kingdom of Bohemia, Austro-Hungarian Empire – 19 November 1991 in Bern) was an Austrian-Swiss ophthalmologist and inventor. Biography Goldmann completed his Gymnasium education in Komotau (now known as ...

u. Enrico Bernardo Streiff, editors: New edition 1954, 927 pages. Third edition, Basel, Freiburg im Breisgau, New York : Karger, 1961. 1011 pages. * ''Quantitative and qualitative vision''. Transactions of the Ophthalmological Society of the United Kingdom, London, 1949, 69: 397–410. * ''Mydriase et myose directes et instantanées par les médiateurs chimiques''. with Florian Verrey. Annales d'oculistique, Paris, December 1949, 182 (12): 936. * ''Earliest symptoms of diseases of the macula''. The British Journal of Ophthalmology, London, 1953, 37: 521–537. * ''L'Humeur Aqueuse et ses Fonctions'' (with Florian Verrey and Alfred Huber). Paris, Masson, 1955.

References

University of Zurich faculty Swiss ophthalmologists 1968 deaths 1891 births People from Vevey {{switzerland-scientist-stub