Alexander Duane (September 1, 1858 – June 10, 1926) was an American

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 ...

who was a native of

Malone Malone () is an Irish surname. From the Irish "''Mael Eóin''", the name means a servant or a disciple of Saint John. People * Gilla Críst Ua Máel Eóin (died 1127), historian and Abbot of Clonmacnoise, Ó Maoil Eoin * Adrian Malone (1937 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He studied medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons (today the medical school of

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

). In 1881 he became an intern at the

New York Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center (; previously known as New York Hospital, Old New York Hospital, and City Hospital) is a research hospital in New York City. It is the teaching hospital for Cornell University's medical school and is part of NewYork-P ...

under German-born ophthalmologist

Hermann Jakob Knapp Jacob Hermann Knapp (March 17, 1832 – April 30, 1911), also known as Hermann Knapp, was a German-American ophthalmologist and otolaryngologist. Biography Knapp was born in Dauborn, Nassau. He earned his medical degree from the University of ...

(1832–1911), and in 1884 started his ophthalmological practice in New York. He was with the U.S. Navy during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

(one), and for a brief period of time taught classes at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. Alexander Duane is remembered for contributions made in the study of the

eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

and vision, including aspects such as

refraction In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one transmission medium, medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. Refraction of light is the most commo ...

, accommodation and

squint Squinting is the action of looking at something with partially closed eyes. Squinting is most often practiced by people who suffer from Refractive error, refractive errors of the eye who either do not have or are not using their glasses. Squint ...

. He also performed extensive analysis involving movement of the

extraocular muscles The extraocular muscles, or extrinsic ocular muscles, are the seven extrinsic muscles of the eye in human eye, humans and other animals. Six of the extraocular muscles, the four recti muscles, and the superior oblique muscle, superior and inferior ...

. In 1897 he published a highly regarded treatise titled "A new classification of the motor anomalies of the eye". Duane translated Austrian ophthalmologist Ernst Fuchs' ophthalmic textbook, which first appeared in English in 1903 under the title of "Fuchs Textbook of Ophthalmology", and ran for eight editions. Duane's name is associated with a few medical eponyms, including "Duane's parallax test", " Duane's retraction syndrome" and "Duane's prism test for latent squint".

References

Ophthalmology Hall of Fame, Alexander Duane
(biography)
Obituary from PubMed
(Originally published in the '' Transactions of the American Ophthalmological Society'' by Kent Weeks) {{DEFAULTSORT:Duane, Alexander American ophthalmologists People from Malone, New York 1858 births 1926 deaths Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni