Historical Perspective of Eye and Ophthalmic Diseases: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

As far as the living being is concerned, eye is the most valuable structure in the body. Half of the total sensory input from the entire body is contributed into the brain by the eyes. In ancient era, Eye diseases were out of control and among seven medical papyri only three Ebers, Carlsberg and London dealt with the eye problems. More than 100 eyes prescriptions, containing salts of copper, antimony, organic materials e.g. crocodile dung etc, were described in the Ebers papyrus. Unani medicineisa science of life and oldest treasure of medical science where many diseases have been described in detail with prognosis, internal medications and surgical interventions. At that time, ophthalmology was a specific field. During the blooming period of Greek Medicine, Ali Ibn Isa Kahhal was a famousophthalmologist. The Unani physicians and ophthalmologists like Al Razi, Al Zahrawi, Al Tabri, Jurjani, Ibn-Al-Haytham, Ali-Ibn Isa Kahhal, etc made major contributions in development of ophthalmology as a specialized field which provided a base for the emergence of modern ophthalmology.