Charles Deval (December 6, 1806 – April 9, 1862) 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

Pera Pera may refer to: Places * Pera (Beyoğlu), a district in Istanbul formerly called Pera, now called Beyoğlu ** Galata, a neighbourhood of Beyoğlu, often referred to as Pera in the past * Pêra (Caparica), a Portuguese locality in the district o ...

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, He was the son of

dragoman A dragoman was an Interpreter (communication), interpreter, translator, and official guide between Turkish language, Turkish-, Arabic language, Arabic-, and Persian language, Persian-speaking countries and polity, polities of the Middle East and ...

Constantin Deval (1767–1816). He studied 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 ...

, receiving his doctorate in 1834. For a few years he studied with

Frédéric Jules Sichel Frédéric Jules Sichel (14 May 1802 – 11 November 1868) was a German-born, French physician and entomologist. Frédéric Jules Sichel was born in Frankfurt am Main. From 1820, he studied medicine at the universities of Würzburg, Tübingen and ...

, and in 1839, he started his own practice. Deval is largely remembered for his written works on ophthalmic medicine, in particular, the 1844 "''Traité de Chirurgie Oculaire''", which was only the second French work devoted exclusively to

eye surgery Eye surgery, also known as ophthalmic surgery or ocular surgery, is surgery performed on the eye or its adnexa. Eye surgery is part of ophthalmology and is performed by an ophthalmologist or eye surgeon. The eye is a fragile organ, and require ...

. This book was important because it helped introduce German and Austrian ophthalmic practices into French medicine. Prior to this publication, descriptions regarding methods of ophthalmological surgery practiced in these countries were not yet available in the French language. This book was a result of Deval's studies in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

with

Friedrich Jäger von Jaxtthal Christoph Friedrich Jäger Ritter von Jaxtthal (4 September 1784 – 25 December 1871) was an Austrian ophthalmologist who was a native of Kirchberg an der Jagst. Early life and education He studied medicine in Vienna and Landshut, and in 180 ...

(1784–1871) and Anton von Rosas (1791–1855). Included in his treatise were explanations of medical innovations developed by German surgeons

Louis Stromeyer Georg Friedrich Louis Stromeyer (6 March 1804 – 15 June 1876) was a German surgeon. He was born and died in Hanover. He was the son of surgeon Christian Friedrich Stromeyer (1761–1824).Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach (1 February 1792 – 11 November 1847) was a German surgeon. He was born in Königsberg and died in Berlin. Dieffenbach specialized in skin transplantation and plastic surgery. His work in rhinoplastic and maxill ...

(1792–1847). Another important written work by Deval was the 1862 "''Traité théorique et pratique des maladies des yeux''", which was a treatise on diseases of the eye, and a culmination of his experiences working with over 20,000 cases in ophthalmic medicine. (Note: Deval's treatise is not to be confused with Louis-Auguste Desmarres' 1847 "''Traité théorique et pratique des maladies des yeux''").The Bernard Becker Collection in Ophthalmology
Rare Books- Records #101-150

Selected writings

* ''Deux années à Constantinople et en Morée (1825-1826)'' (1828) – Two years in Constantinople and

Morea Morea ( or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used by the Principality of Achaea, the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the O ...

, 1825-26. * ''Traité de Chirurgie Oculaire'' (1844) – Treatise on ocular surgery. * ''Traité de l'amaurose ou de la goutte-sereine'' (1851) – Treatise on

amaurosis Amaurosis (Greek meaning ''darkening'', ''dark'', or ''obscure'') is vision loss or weakness that occurs without an apparent lesion affecting the eye. It may result from either a medical condition or excess acceleration, as in flight. The term is t ...

. * ''Traité théorique et pratique des maladies des yeux'' (1862) – Theoretical and practical treatise on maladies of the eye.

References

* ''This article incorporates translated text from an equivalent article at the

French Wikipedia The French Wikipedia () is the French-language edition of Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. This edition was started on 23 March 2001, two months after the official creation of Wikipedia. It has :fr:Special:Statistics, encyclopedia artic ...

''. * Louis du Chalard & Antoine Gautier, ''Une carrière atypique : de l'orientalisme à l'ophtalmologie : le docteur Charles Deval (1806 - 1862)'', in Orients, Bulletin de l'association des anciens élèves et amis des langues orientales, juin 2009, p. 43-63.
ILAB Online Catalogues
description of "Traité de Chirurgie Oculaire". {{DEFAULTSORT:Deval, Charles French ophthalmologists 1806 births 1862 deaths Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to France