Victor Morax, Paris, 1920 Victor Morax (16 March 1866 – 14 May 1935) was an

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

Morges Morges (; la, Morgiis, plural, probably ablative, else dative; frp, Môrges) is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud and the seat of the district of Morges. It is located on Lake Geneva. History Morges is first mentioned in 1288 as ' ...

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 ...

. He studied in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

(Germany) and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, and from 1891 to 1903, he worked at the

Pasteur Institute The Pasteur Institute (french: Institut Pasteur) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines f ...

in Paris. From 1903 to 1928, he was associated with the Hôpital Lariboisière, rejoining the Pasteur Institute as a permanent member in 1929. In 1930, he became a member of the

Académie de Médecine An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

. While at the Pasteur Institute, Morax discovered the

bacillus ''Bacillus'' (Latin "stick") is a genus of Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacteria, a member of the phylum ''Bacillota'', with 266 named species. The term is also used to describe the shape (rod) of other so-shaped bacteria; and the plural ''Bacilli ...

'' Moraxella lacunata'', the cause of chronic

conjunctivitis Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, is inflammation of the conjunctiva, outermost layer of the white part of the eye and the inner surface of the eyelid. It makes the eye appear pink or reddish. Pain, burning, scratchiness, or itchiness may ...

. The disease is sometimes referred to as either "Morax' disease" or as "Axenfeld's conjunctivitis", named after German

Theodor Axenfeld Karl Theodor Paul Polykarpus Axenfeld (24 June 1867 – 29 July 1930) was a German ophthalmologist born in Smyrna (İzmir) in the Ottoman Empire to a German minister, who was a Jewish convert to Christianity and served as missionary in Asia Minor. ...

(1867-1930), who made his discovery of the bacillus during the same time period as did Morax. In 1923, he became vice-president of the "International League Against

Trachoma Trachoma is an infectious disease caused by bacterium ''Chlamydia trachomatis''. The infection causes a roughening of the inner surface of the eyelids. This roughening can lead to pain in the eyes, breakdown of the outer surface or cornea of ...

" with

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology -- a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically Pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learnin ...

Charles Nicolle Charles Jules Henri Nicolle (21 September 1866 – 28 February 1936) was a French bacteriologist who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his identification of lice as the transmitter of epidemic typhus. Family Nicolle was born to Aline L ...

(1866-1936) serving as its president. In 1929, he published a treatise on the disorder titled ''Le Trachome''. From 1892, he was editor of the journal ''Annales d’oculistique''.

Early life

Victor Morax was born on March 16, 1866 in a small villa near the Lake of Geneva. Morax's father was a doctor and it was known that he had two brothers.

Career

Victor Morax worked in Louis Pasteur's laboratory where he pursued his interest in bacteriology. He later joined Parinaud as his assistant to study ophthalmology. In the 1900s, after Parinaud's passing, Morax went on to be nominated as the ophthalmologist of hospitals in Paris; he was primarily focusing on conjunctivitis and ocular asepsis. In 1901, Morax developed an interest in trachoma and determined the root cause of acute trachoma. His interest in follicular conjunctivitis became prominent in his studies as he developed subgroups of conjunctivitis. He continued his work on the bacteriologic as well as ophthalmology throughout his career. Morax discovered pneumococcus in acute conjunctivitis as well as diplobacillus in angular conjunctivitis with Axenfeld. In 1903, he took over the Hopital Lariboisiere and over the span of 26 years, he was able to add more beds and update the ophthalmology department that drew in many new students. After retirement in 1928, Morax's interest in the field remained constant and he continued his theories at the Pasteur Institute.

Written works

* ''Maladies de la conjonctive et de la corné. Sémiologie oculaire''. in:

Pierre-Félix Lagrange Pierre-Félix Lagrange (22 January 1857 – 22 April 1928) was a French ophthalmologist. Early life Pierre-Félix Lagrange was born on January 22, 1857 in Soumensac, département lot-et-Garonne, France. He studied medicine at the University of ...

(1857-1928) and Emile Valude (1857-1930)- Encyclopédie française d’ophtalmologie. Paris, 1903–1910. * ''Précis d’ophthalmologie'', Paris, 1907; fourth edition ca 1932. * ''Glaucome et glaucomateux'', Paris, 1921. * ''Le trachome''. with P. Petit, Paris, 1929.Victor Morax
(bibliography)

References

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 ...

Portail Institut Pasteur
(translated biography) {{DEFAULTSORT:Morax, Victor 1866 births 1935 deaths French ophthalmologists People from Morges