Richard Liebreich (30 June 1830 – 19 January 1917) was a German

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 ...

and

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...

who was a native of

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

. He was of

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

ancestry. In 1853 he earned his doctorate at Halle, and from 1854 until 1862 was an assistant to Albrecht von Graefe (1828-1870) in

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 ...

. He subsequently practiced medicine 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 ...

(from 1862) and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

(from 1870), where he was head of ophthalmology at St. Thomas Hospital. He later retired from medicine and moved back to Paris, where he worked as a

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

. His brother, Oskar Liebreich (1839-1908) was a noted

pharmacologist Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between ...

. In 1863 he published the highly acclaimed ''Atlas des Ophthalmoscopie'', an atlas dedicated to the subject of

ophthalmoscopy Ophthalmoscopy, also called funduscopy, is a test that allows a health professional to see inside the fundus of the eye and other structures using an ophthalmoscope (or funduscope). It is done as part of an eye examination and may be done as part ...

. He also designed a popular model of

ophthalmoscope Ophthalmoscopy, also called funduscopy, is a test that allows a health professional to see inside the fundus of the eye and other structures using an ophthalmoscope (or funduscope). It is done as part of an eye examination and may be done as part ...

called the "Liebreich ophthalmoscope". He was interested in the pathological changes of the eye as viewed through the ophthalmoscope, and in 1859 provided a classic description of ocular changes in

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine. It was frequently accompanied ...

Ophthalmoscope designed by Richard Liebreich circa 1860

As an assistant to Albrecht von Graefe, Liebreich performed important research involving Usher syndrome, and demonstrated the combined

heritability Heritability is a statistic used in the fields of Animal husbandry, breeding and genetics that estimates the degree of ''variation'' in a phenotypic trait in a population that is due to genetic variation between individuals in that population. T ...

blindness Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

and

deafness Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is writte ...

concerning the disease. As a physician in Paris he performed a successful operation on the mother-in-law of emperor

Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

Works by Liebreich that have been published in English

* "Atlas of ophthalmoscopy, representing the normal and pathological conditions of the fundus oculi as seen with the ophthalmoscope. Composed of 12 chromolithographic plates, containing 59 figures, drawn from nature and accompanied by an explanatory text", (text translated by Henry Rosborough Swanzy) London, J. Churchill and Sons (1870). * "Effects of Faulty Vision in Painting", in

Popular Science Popular science (also called pop-science or popsci) is an interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is more broad ranging. It may be written ...

Monthly, Volume 1, June 1872. * "School life in its influence on sight and figure. Two lectures", London, J. & A. Churchill, (1878). * "Turner and Mulready : the effect of certain faults of vision on painting with especial reference to their works; The real and ideal in portraiture; The deterioration of oil paintings", London : J. & A. Churchill, (1888).Most widely held works about Richard Liebreich
WorldCat Identities

References

* "This article incorporates text based on a translation of an equivalent article at the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

External links

*
Gilai Collectibles
Photo of ca. 1875 Liebreich ophthalmoscope {{DEFAULTSORT:Liebreich, Richard 1830 births 1917 deaths Physicians from Königsberg Physicians from the Province of Prussia 19th-century German Jews German ophthalmologists