Edwin Theodor Saemisch (30 September 1833,

Luckau Luckau (Lower Sorbian: ''Łuków'') is a city in the district of Dahme-Spreewald in the States of Germany#States, federal state of Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. Known for its beauty, it has been dubbed "the Pearl of Lower Lusatia". Origin of t ...

– 29 September 1909,

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

) 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 ...

born in

. In 1858 he received his medical doctorate from the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

, afterwards serving as an assistant to

Albrecht von Graefe Albrecht von Graefe may refer to: * Albrecht von Graefe (ophthalmologist) (1828-1870), Prussian ophthalmologist * Albrecht von Graefe (politician) (1868-1933), German politician and landowner {{hndis, Graefe, Albrecht von ...

(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 ...

, and to Alexander Pagenstecher (1828-1879) in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

. In 1867 he became an associate professor at the

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

, and in 1873 attained the title of "full professor". Saemisch specialized in eye disorders, particularly diseases of the

conjunctiva In the anatomy of the eye, the conjunctiva (: conjunctivae) is a thin mucous membrane that lines the inside of the eyelids and covers the sclera (the white of the eye). It is composed of non-keratinized, stratified squamous epithelium with gobl ...

sclera The sclera, also known as the white of the eye or, in older literature, as the tunica albuginea oculi, is the opaque, fibrous, protective outer layer of the eye containing mainly collagen and some crucial elastic fiber. In the development of t ...

and

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 ...

. He is credited for providing descriptions of

vernal conjunctivitis Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC, also Spring catarrh, Vernal catarrh or Warm weather conjunctivitis) is a recurrent, bilateral, and self-limiting type of conjunctivitis (pink eye) having a periodic seasonal incidence. Vernal keratopathy Corneal ...

and a type of

corneal ulcer Corneal ulcer, often resulting from keratitis is an inflammatory or, more seriously, infective condition of the cornea involving disruption of its epithelial layer with involvement of the corneal stroma. It is a common condition in humans part ...

called "''ulcus serpens corneae''". With Alfred Carl Graefe (1830-1899), a cousin of Albrecht von Graefe, he was co-editor of a multi-volume manual on ophthalmology titled ''Handbuch der gesammten Augenheilkunde''.

Associated eponyms

* "Saemisch's ulcer": a serpiginous

; ''ulcus serpens corneae''. * "Saemisch's operation": An operation for

hypopyon Hypopyon is a medical condition involving Inflammation#Cellular component, inflammatory cells in the anterior chamber of the human eye, eye. It is an exudate rich in white blood cells, seen in the anterior chamber, usually accompanied by redness ...

ulcer.

Written works

* ''Klinische Beobachtungen aus der Augenheilanstalt in Wiesbaden''. With

Arnold Pagenstecher Arnold Andreas Friedrich Pagenstecher (25 December 1837, Dillenburg – 11 June 1913, Wiesbaden) was a German doctor and entomologist. He was especially interested in Lepidoptera, especially Papilionidae. He wrote ''Die geographische Verbreitung ...

(1837-1913) and Alexander Pagenstecher. two booklets, Wiesbaden, 1861-1862. * ''Beiträge zur normalen und pathologischen Anatomie des Auges'', Leipzig, 1862. * ''Handbuch der gesammten Augenheilkunde'' (by Edwin Theodor Saemisch and Alfred Carl Graefe). ** First edition, (17 volumes) from 1874 to 1889. ** Second edition, (15 volumes in 41) 1899-1918. ** Third edition, from 1912. * ''Das Ulcus corneae serpens und seine Therapie; eine klinische Studie''. Bonn, 1870.Edwin Theodor Saemisch - bibliography
at

Who Named It ''Whonamedit?'' is an online English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though it is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliograp ...

References

External links

"Edwin Theodor Saemisch"
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saemisch, Edwin Theodor 1833 births 1909 deaths Prussian physicians 19th-century German physicians People from Luckau People from the Province of Brandenburg German ophthalmologists Academic staff of the University of Bonn