THE EYE OF HORUS
The history of ophthalmology starts with a myth. Seth, the God of Darkness, blinded Horus in a fierce battle.
As the eyes of Horus were sacred and imperishable, Ra, the sun God, restored His sight by (real organ transplantation).
This sacred eye is remembered in the beginning of every medical prescription (by any doctor of any specialty of the world) with the symbol Rx, which means “you take this prescription with an oath to the sacred eye of Horus”.
THE FIRST EYE DOCTOR: IRY (2400 BC)
The most ancient known ey doctor was Iry, a Royal Oculist, who lived during the Sixth Egyptian Dynasty (2400 BC) and devoted himself to the study and treatment of diseases of the eye (and also of the rectum).5
HESY RA (3000 BC)
Hesy Ra was the chief of Dentists and Physicians who lived during the Third Dynasty of Egypt. According to Ebers' Papyrus, he first recognized the disease diabetes mellitus and its relation to the eye.
The Egyptian stamp above shows a papyrus in the center with some document on diabetes mellitus, the Egyptian physician Hesy Ra on the left and the WHO emblem on the right.
EBERS' PAPYRUS (1500 BC): THE FIRST OPHTHALMIC DOCUMENT
Ebers' Papyrus, the most important ophthalmological writing from ancient Egypt, was found in 1862 between the legs of a mummy in the necropolis of Thebes.
Here, the only surgical treatment described is “epilation” for trichiasis. At that time (1500 BC,) trachoma (Egyptian eye disease) was endemic, and the doctors who specialized in treating eye diseases were regarded as God in Egyptian society.
Kings from neighboring lands would ask the gift of an experienced eye doctor to join their court.
Ebers' Papyrus contains 877 recipes concerning great variety of symptoms or diseases of which over 18 entries are related to ophthalmology.
Like, night blindness was cured by intake of crushed ox liver. Other ingredients were turtle's brain, pig's gall (bile), myrrh, milk, honey, urine, red lead, antimony and copper sulfate.
Foreign body removal was also practiced by some Egyptian doctor at that time. The lower half of the stamp above shows removal of foreign body by some stellate kind of instrument.
ATHARVA VEDA AND THE EYE
Long before the Christian era, the sacred four Vedas were composed by ancient sages of India. “Ayurveda” is the subsection or Upanga of 4th Veda i.e., Atharva Veda. It is devoted to medicine and knowledge of longevity.
Here, the saying is “Sarbo-indrioyng Nayanam Pradhanam” which means “among all organs the Eyes are the Supreme” and it also says without it, there is no correspondence with the external world.
On right side, there is the stamp of Lord Dhanvantri, who is regarded as God of healing in Hindu Mythology and is considered as the creator of Ayurveda.
SUSRUTA (600 BC ?-?): FATHER OF SURGERY
Susruta lived in Kashi (ancient Varanasi) of India. He was the pupil of Lord Dhanvantri, the God of healing in Indian mythology.9
He was the greatest Indian surgeon and pioneer in cataract surgery by couching.
He is the author of Susruta Samhita (The Compendium of Susruta). In Uttaratantra, the appendix or last section of Susruta Samhita, 76 eyes diseases have been described in details with their medical and surgical management.
Susruta also described 101 blunt and 20 sharp surgical instruments of which human hand is the most important instrument and included in this count.
Susruta says that there can be nothing more magnificant than the act of removing human suffering. The science of life in practice is Godly, life giving; indeed it is a virtue and fame personified.
HIPPOCRATES (460–377 BC): FATHER OF MEDICINE
He was thefirst who founded the scientific basis of medicine based on own experience, careful intelligent observation and reasoning.
He freed medicine from the influences of religion, philosophy and magic. He was noble, wise and an excellent leader in the art of healing. His method is the method of modern medicine; the study of disease as an objective natural phenomenon. In fact the term “Physician” derived from Greek word meaning “natura”. He deserves the title “Father of Medicine”.
He wrote numerous manuscripts which contain elaborative chapters on physiology, pathology and treatment of ocular disorders.
ARISTOTLE (384–322 BC): COMPARATIVE ANATOMY
Aristotle was born in Macedon. He is considered to be the founder of comparative anatomy.
He dissected eyes of animals and formed a vague conception about the structures of the organ – “a sphere made of three coats intimately apposed to each other; filled with uniform ocular fluid, and connected with the brain by three hollow tubes.”
He didn't have any knowledge about the retinal layer and the lens was assumed to be the postmortem appearance of a morbid accumulation of phlegm.