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Historical concepts of glaucoma
Author(s) -
GRZYBOWSKI A
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2012.3451.x
Subject(s) - glaucoma , style (visual arts) , disease , perspective (graphical) , epistemology , medicine , relation (database) , medical science , psychology , history , ophthalmology , philosophy , computer science , pathology , archaeology , database , artificial intelligence , medical education
Purpose To present different historical concepts of glaucoma in relation to the thought‐styles of their time. Methods Historical analysis of the old medical treatises and modern history of ophthalmology articles. Results The pathogenesis of glaucoma is one of the most important and puzzling issues in the 21st century ophthalmology. Many concepts were recently presented, including light‐damage theory, local and systemic ischaemic injury, oestrogen deficiency and low CSF pressure. It shows its multifactorial profile and our present deficiency in understanding its real nature. The possible reason for this might be our scientific thought‐style, which determines our present perception of the disease and possible concepts of its pathogenesis, which are verified in clinical and experimental research. The collective thought‐style, in this case regarding the nature of glaucoma, might easily eliminate any new idea or non‐conventional hypothesis. The scientist is a part of the thought‐collective. Every observer has been shaped by a particular culture and represents a thought‐style of a definite scientific group, and his style determines the range of his observations. The historical glaucoma concepts reflected usually historical thought‐styles typical for the period of scientific development. Conclusion Understanding the principles that govern the development of science in the historical perspective allows for an understanding of our own limitations in this respect (contemporary thought‐style), which frequently prevent us from looking at the matter in a non‐standard way.