Rudolf Schirmer (10 March 1831,

Greifswald Greifswald (), officially the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald (german: Universitäts- und Hansestadt Greifswald, Low German: ''Griepswoold'') is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostoc ...

– 27 January 1896) was a German

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

from

. He initially studied medicine at the

University of Greifswald The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western ...

, then furthered his studies at

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Later he returned to Greifswald, where he was habilitated for ophthalmology in 1860. In 1873 he attained the chair of ophthalmology, a position he held until his retirement in 1893. In 1885, he succeeded philosopher

Wilhelm Schuppe Ernst Julius Wilhelm Schuppe (5 May 1836 – 29 March 1913) was a German positivist philosopher, born in Brieg, Silesia. He advocated what he called 'immanent philosophy'. Life In 1860 Schuppe received his doctorate in jurisprudence from the Uni ...

as university

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

at Greifswald. Schirmer is remembered for establishing

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a med ...

as an independent discipline at Greifswald, as well as his research involving the anomalies of

refraction In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one 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 commonly observed phenomen ...

and accommodation of the eye. Also he performed extensive studies of diseases involving the

lacrimal apparatus The lacrimal apparatus is the physiological system containing the orbital structures for tear production and drainage.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company, 1990. It consists ...

. The term "Schirmer's syndrome" is employed to indicate the association of

hydrophthalmia Primary juvenile glaucoma is glaucoma that develops due to ocular hypertension and is evident either at birth or within the first few years of life. It is caused due to abnormalities in the anterior chamber angle development that obstruct aqueous ...

(early glaucoma) and

Sturge–Weber syndrome Sturge–Weber syndrome, sometimes referred to as encephalotrigeminal angiomatosis, is a rare congenital neurological and skin disorder. It is one of the phakomatoses and is often associated with port-wine stains of the face, glaucoma, seizures, ...

. His son,

Otto Schirmer Otto Schirmer (13 December 1864, in Greifswald – 6 May 1918) was a German ophthalmologist from Greifswald. He studied medicine at several universities including the University of Greifswald. In 1896 he attained the chair of ophthalmology at Gr ...

(1864–1918) was also a professor of ophthalmology at Greifswald.

Publications

* ''Ein Fall von Telangiektasia''.

Albrecht von Graefe Albrecht von Graefe may refer to: * Albrecht von Graefe (ophthalmologist) (1828-1870), Prussian opthalmologist * Albrecht von Graefe (politician) Albrecht von Graefe (1 January 1868 – 18 April 1933) was a German landowner and right-wing ...

's Archiv für Ophtalmologie, 1860, 7: 119–121. - A case of

telangiectasia Telangiectasias, also known as spider veins, are small dilated blood vessels that can occur near the surface of the skin or mucous membranes, measuring between 0.5 and 1 millimeter in diameter. These dilated blood vessels can develop anywhere on ...

. * ''Die Lehre von den Refractions- und Accomodationsstörungen des Auges''. Berlin, 1866. Die Krankheiten der Thränenorgane. Graefe-Saemisch, Handbuch der Augenheilkunde. - The theory of refraction and accommodation disorders of the eye.Rudolf Schirmer - bibliography
@

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

XVth Convention of the Julius-Hirschberg-Gesellschaft
(biography)
Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Cerebral Perfusion Abnormalities in Children With Sturge-Weber Syndrome * 1831 births 1896 deaths Naturalists from the Kingdom of Prussia People from Greifswald German ophthalmologists University of Greifswald alumni Academic staff of the University of Greifswald Physicians from the Province of Pomerania {{Germany-med-bio-stub