Carl Friedrich Richard Förster
Encyclopedia
Carl Friedrich Richard Förster (15 November 1825 – 7 July 1902) was a German ophthalmologist who was born in the town of Lissa (today Leszno
, Poland). He received his medical doctorate in 1849, and for most of his career was associated with the University of Breslau. Two of his assistants at Breslau were Hermann Wilbrand
(1851–1935) and Hermann Rudolph Aubert
(1826–1892).
Förster is remembered primarily for his tests of visual acuity
; particularly research of indirect vision and visual field
boundaries. From these tests, the eponymous terms of "Förster perimeter" and "Förster's shift" are derived. A Förster perimeter was an instrument used to measure an individual's field of vision. He also devised a specialized photometer
to determine the smallest amount of light that will permit an object to be visible.
In 1871 Förster defined the difference between negative and positive scotoma
(blind spot); if vision of the scotoma region is a void, it is a negative scotoma, and if the scotoma is an area of darkness/lightness or composed of hallucinatory patterns, it is called a positive scotoma.
Leszno
Leszno is a town in central Poland with 63,955 inhabitants . Situated in the southern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship since 1999, it was previously the capital of the Leszno Voivodeship . The town has county status.-History:...
, Poland). He received his medical doctorate in 1849, and for most of his career was associated with the University of Breslau. Two of his assistants at Breslau were Hermann Wilbrand
Hermann Wilbrand
Hermann Wilbrand was a German ophthalmologist born in Giessen. Wilbrand's father and grandfather were also physicians....
(1851–1935) and Hermann Rudolph Aubert
Hermann Rudolph Aubert
Hermann Rudolph Aubert was a German physiologist who was born in Frankfurt. After being conferred a physician in 1850, he was a physiologist in Breslau and later a professor of physiology in Rostock...
(1826–1892).
Förster is remembered primarily for his tests of visual acuity
Visual acuity
Visual acuity is acuteness or clearness of vision, which is dependent on the sharpness of the retinal focus within the eye and the sensitivity of the interpretative faculty of the brain....
; particularly research of indirect vision and visual field
Visual field
The term visual field is sometimes used as a synonym to field of view, though they do not designate the same thing. The visual field is the "spatial array of visual sensations available to observation in introspectionist psychological experiments", while 'field of view' "refers to the physical...
boundaries. From these tests, the eponymous terms of "Förster perimeter" and "Förster's shift" are derived. A Förster perimeter was an instrument used to measure an individual's field of vision. He also devised a specialized photometer
Photometer
In its widest sense, a photometer is an instrument for measuring light intensity or optical properties of solutions or surfaces. Photometers are used to measure:*Illuminance*Irradiance*Light absorption*Scattering of light*Reflection of light*Fluorescence...
to determine the smallest amount of light that will permit an object to be visible.
In 1871 Förster defined the difference between negative and positive scotoma
Scotoma
A scotoma is an area of partial alteration in one's field of vision consisting of a partially diminished or entirely degenerated visual acuity which is surrounded by a field of normal - or relatively well-preserved - vision.Every normal mammalian eye has a scotoma in its field of vision, usually...
(blind spot); if vision of the scotoma region is a void, it is a negative scotoma, and if the scotoma is an area of darkness/lightness or composed of hallucinatory patterns, it is called a positive scotoma.
Written works
- Beiträge zur Kenntniss des indirecten Sehens. Albrecht von Graefe's Archiv für Ophthalmologie, Berlin, 1857, 3: 167, Aubert, R. F. Foerster
- Ophtalmologische Beiträge. Berlin, 1862.
- Beziehungen der Allgemein-Leiden und Organ-Erkrankungen zu Veränderungen und Erkrankungen des Sehorgans. In: Edwin Theodor SaemischEdwin Theodor SaemischEdwin Theodor Saemisch was a German ophthalmologist who was born in Luckau. In 1858 he received his medical doctorate from the University of Berlin, and afterwards was an assistant to Albrecht von Graefe in Berlin, and Alexander Pagenstecher in Wiesbaden...
and Alfred Carl GraefeAlfred Carl GraefeAlfred Carl Graefe was a German ophthalmologist who was born in Martinskirchen. He studied medicine in Halle and Berlin, and later became a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Halle. He was cousin to famed oculist Albrecht von Graefe.Alfred Graefe was known for his work with ocular...
: Handbuch der gesammten Augenheilkunde. Leipzig 1877, 7, Theil 5, pp. 59-234. - Lichtsinn bei Krankheiten der Chorioidea und Retina. Klin Mbl Augenheilk 1871; 9: 337-346.
- Künstliche Reifung des Cataracts. Hermann Jakob KnappHermann Jakob KnappHermann Jakob Knapp was a German-American ophthalmologist who was born in Dauborn, Nassau. He earned his medical degree from the University of Giessen in 1854. As a young physician he studied with Franciscus Cornelis Donders in Utrecht, William Bowman in London, Albrecht von Graefe in Berlin and...
’s Archiv für Augenheilkunde, Wiesbaden, 1883. - Verbreitung der Cholera durch die Brunnen. Carl Wilhelm von ZehenderCarl Wilhelm von ZehenderCarl Wilhelm von Zehender was a German ophthalmologist who was born in Bremen. He was an ophthalmologist in Neustrelitz, Berne and Rostock...
’s Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde, Stuttgart, 1873. - Das Wasser als Träger des Choleragiftes. Küchenmeister’s Zeitschrift für Epidemiologie und öffentliche Gesundheitspflege, Darmstadt and Leipzig, 1874.
- Einfluss der Concavgläser auf die Weiterentwicklung der Myopie. Knapp’s Archiv für Augenheilkunde, Wiesbaden, XIV.
External links
- PubMedCentral (essay on Förster's perimeter)
- Carl Friedrich Richard Förster @ Who Named ItWho Named ItWho Named It? is an English-language dictionary of medical eponyms and the people associated with their identification. Though this is a dictionary, many eponyms and persons are presented in extensive articles with comprehensive bibliographies. It is hosted in Norway and maintained by medical...