Hugo Magnus (31 May 1842 in Neumarkt in Schlesien – 15 April 1907 in Breslau) 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 historian of medicine. He was of Jewish ancestry. He studied medicine at the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, where he was a pupil of Albrecht Theodor Middeldorpf and

Hermann Lebert Hermann Lebert (born ''Hermann Lewy''; 9 June 1813 – 1 August 1878) was a German physician and naturalist. Biography Lebert was born in Breslau. He studied medicine and the natural sciences first in Berlin and later in Zürich under Johann Luk ...

. In 1867 he received his medical doctorate, and in 1873 qualified as a lecturer in ophthalmology. In 1883 he became an associate professor at the University of Breslau. He is remembered for his intensive studies of

color blindness Color blindness, color vision deficiency (CVD) or color deficiency is the decreased ability to color vision, see color or differences in color. The severity of color blindness ranges from mostly unnoticeable to full absence of color percept ...

and color sense. He also conducted research of

eye diseases This is a partial list of human eye diseases and disorders. The World Health Organization (WHO) publishes a classification of known diseases and injuries, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, or ...

; in 1874 he made an early observation of what would be later known as

Von Hippel–Lindau syndrome The term () is used in German surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means or . Nobility directories like the often abbreviate the noble term to ''v.'' I ...

, and in 1878 he provided an early clinical description of

proptosis Exophthalmos (also called exophthalmus, exophthalmia, proptosis, or exorbitism) is a bulging of the eye anteriorly out of the orbit. Exophthalmos can be either bilateral (as is often seen in Graves' disease) or unilateral (as is often seen in ...

in infantile

scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum d ...

. He was the author of numerous works with

history of medicine The history of medicine is both a study of medicine throughout history as well as a multidisciplinary field of study that seeks to explore and understand medical practices, both past and present, throughout human societies. The history of med ...

themes (including ophthalmology).

Selected works

* ''Das Auge in seinen ästhetischen und cultur-geschichtlichen Beziehungen'', 1876 – The eye in its aesthetic and cultural-historical relationships. * ''Die geschichtliche Entwickelung des Farbensinnes'', 1877 – The historical development of color perception. * ''Die Anatomie des Auges bei den Griechen und Römern'', 1878 – The anatomy of the eye in reference to the Greeks and Romans. * ''Die Farbenblindheit; ihr Wesen und ihre Bedeutung, dargestellt für Behörden, praktische Aerzte, Bahnärzte, Lehrer'', 1878 – treatise on color blindness. * ''Untersuchungen über den Farbensinn der Naturvölker'', 1880 – Studies involving the color sense of primitive peoples. * ''Die Augenheilkunde der Alten'', 1901 – translated into English by Richey L. Waugh, Jr. in 1998 as "Ophthalmology of the ancients". * ''Die methodische Erziehung des Farbensinnes'', 1902 – Methodical education involving color perception. * ''Abhandlungen zur Geschichte der Medicin'' (with

Karl Sudhoff Karl Sudhoff (26 November 1853, Frankfurt am Main – 8 October 1938, Salzwedel) was a German historian of medicine, who founded the first institute for the history of medicine in the world. Sudhoff taught for years at the University of Leipzig, ...

, Max Neuburger), 1902 – Essays on the history of medicine. * ''Medicin und religion in ihren gegenseitigen beziehungen; geschichtliche untersuchungen'', 1902 – Medicine and religion in their mutual relationships; historical analysis. * "Visual economics, with rules for estimation of the earning ability after injuries to the eyes", 1902 (published in English, with Henry Würdemann). * ''Kritik der medicinischen Erkenntnis; eine medicin-geschichtliche Untersuchung'', 1904 – Review of medical knowledge; a history of medicine investigation. * ''Die volksmedizin, ihre geschichtliche entwickelung und ihre beziehungen zur kultur'', 1905 –

Folk medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

, its historical development and its relationship to culture. * ''Der Aberglauben in der Medicin''; translated into English, edited by Julius L. Salinger as "Superstition in medicine", 1905.HathiTrust Digital Library
published works

References

1842 births 1907 deaths University of Breslau alumni Academic staff of the University of Breslau 19th-century German Jews German ophthalmologists German medical historians People from Środa Śląska {{Germany-med-bio-stub