Louis Émile Javal
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Louis Émile Javal (5 May 1839 – 20 January 1907) was a French
ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...
born in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. Javal is remembered for his studies of
physiological Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...
optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...
and his work involving a disorder known as
strabismus Strabismus is an eye disorder in which the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. The eye that is pointed at an object can alternate. The condition may be present occasionally or constantly. If present during a ...
.


Early life

He was born in Paris to Léopold Javal (1804-1872) and Auguste Javal (née von Lämel; 1817-1893).


Academic background

Originally trained as a
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...
, he switched to the medical profession, receiving his degree from the
University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
in 1868. Following graduation, he traveled to
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, where he studied under Albrecht von Graefe (1828-1870). During the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
he served as a medical officer. In 1878 he opened an ophthalmological laboratory at the Sorbonne and was its director until 1900. Politically active like his father, he represented the district of
Yonne Yonne (, in Burgundian: ''Ghienne'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight con ...
in the French Parliament from 1884 to 1889.


Contributions in ophthalmology

With his student Hjalmar August Schiøtz (1850-1927), he constructed an early keratometer, also known as the " Javal Schiötz ophthalmometer". This device is used to measure the curvature of the
cornea The cornea is the transparency (optics), transparent front part of the eyeball which covers the Iris (anatomy), iris, pupil, and Anterior chamber of eyeball, anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and Lens (anatomy), lens, the cornea ...
l surface of the eye, as well as to determine the extent and axis of
astigmatism Astigmatism is a type of refractive error due to rotational asymmetry in the eye's refractive power. The lens and cornea of an eye without astigmatism are nearly spherical, with only a single radius of curvature, and any refractive errors ...
. Javal also made important contributions in regards to the study of
eye tracking Eye tracking is the process of measuring either the point of gaze (where one is looking) or the motion of an eye relative to the head. An eye tracker is a device for measuring eye positions and eye movement. Eye trackers are used in research ...
, and with his assistant Marius Hans Erik Tscherning (1854-1939), he researched astigmatism and conducted studies in the field of
optics Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of optical instruments, instruments that use or Photodetector, detect it. Optics usually describes t ...
. Javal described eye movements during reading in the late 19th century. He reported that eyes do not move continuously along a line of text, but make short rapid movements (
saccades In vision science, a saccade ( ; ; ) is a quick, simultaneous movement of both eyes between two or more phases of focal points in the same direction. In contrast, in smooth-pursuit movements, the eyes move smoothly instead of in jumps. Control ...
) intermingled with short stops ( fixations). Javal's observations were characterised by a reliance on naked-eye observation of eye movement in the absence of technology. Javal's interest in
strabismus Strabismus is an eye disorder in which the eyes do not properly align with each other when looking at an object. The eye that is pointed at an object can alternate. The condition may be present occasionally or constantly. If present during a ...
was due to the disorder affecting his father and sister. Javal himself had heterochromia. At middle-age Javal developed
glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can lead to damage of the optic nerve. The optic nerve transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma may cause vision loss if left untreated. It has been called the "silent thief of ...
, and by 1900 was totally blind after suffering repeated attacks of acute angle-closure. He was a friend of Ludwik Łazarz Zamenhof (1859-1917), the inventor of
Esperanto Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...
, and he stressed the importance of learning this language by the blind. In addition, he was involved in
social reform Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary movements which reject t ...
issues that included education and circumstances surrounding the poor. Today the "Louis Emile Javal Silver Service Distinction" is issued by the International Contact Lens Council of Ophthalmology. Javal died of
stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a malignant tumor of the stomach. It is a cancer that develops in the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a numb ...
and donated his left eye to histopathological research in England where, however, it got lost without a report being published.Rohrbach JM: Emile Javal (1839-1907) and his glaucoma blindness - a Life for Politics, Publishing, Vision Research, and Blind Fellow Men. Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde 2011; 228: 166-169.


Personal life

He married Maria Anna Ellissen (1847–1933) on July 30, 1867. They had five children: Alice Anna (1869–1943), twins Jeanne Félicie (1871–1956) and Jean-Félix (1871–1915), Adolphe (1873–1944) and Mathilde Julie (1876–1947). His daughter Alice married Lazare Weiller and was the mother of four children (one of whom was Paul-Louis Weiller). Another daughter, Jeanne Félicie, married Paul Louis Weiss and was the mother of six children (including
Louise Weiss Louise Weiss (25 January 1893 – 26 May 1983) was a French author, journalist, feminist, and European Union, European politician. She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971 Nobel Peace Prize, 1971 and for the Nobel Prize in Literatur ...
and Jenny Aubry).


Bibliography

* ''Du strabisme, dans ses applications à la théorie de la vision''. Doctoral dissertation, Paris, 1868. * ''Un opthalmomètre pratique'', Annales d'oculistique, L. E. Javal, H. Schiötz: Paris, 1881, 86: 5-21. * ''Manuel du strabisme''. Paris, 1896. * ''Entre aveugles''; Paris, 1903. translated into German, English and Esperanto. * ''Physiologie de la lecture et de l’écriture''. Paris, 1905; bibliography in Annales d'oculistique, Paris, 1907, 137: 187.


See also

* Javal family


References


External links


''Louis Émile Javal''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Javal, Louis Emile French ophthalmologists 1839 births 1907 deaths 19th-century French Jews University of Paris alumni Physicians from Paris French military personnel of the Franco-Prussian War Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery