John Cunningham Saunders, M.D. (1773–1810) was an English surgeon, known for his pioneering work on the surgery of cataracts. He was founder of the Royal London Ophthalmic Hospital (Moorfields

Moorfields Eye Hospital

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS eye hospital located in London, United Kingdom. It is the oldest and largest eye hospital in the world and is internationally renowned for its comprehensive clinical and research activities...

).

Life

Saunders was born at Huish, Devon, England. He founded the London Eye Infirmary "out of compassion for the pitiful state of many soldiers returning from the Egyptian campaign afflicted with military ophthalmoplegia and trachoma

Trachoma

Trachoma is an infectious disease causing a characteristic roughening of the inner surface of the eyelids. Also called granular conjunctivitis and Egyptian ophthalmia, it is the leading cause of infectious blindness in the world...

 infections" Saunders remained the director of Moorfields, a famous teaching institution, from its founding in 1805 until his death.

In 1809 he became one of the first people in England to use belladonna for its mydriatic properties to facilitate cataract extraction

Cataract surgery

Cataract surgery is the removal of the natural lens of the eye that has developed an opacification, which is referred to as a cataract. Metabolic changes of the crystalline lens fibers over time lead to the development of the cataract and loss of transparency, causing impairment or loss of vision...

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The church at Huish in Devon contains a memorial to him.

Works

His book; A Treatise on some Practical Points Relating to the Diseases of the Eye. was published posthumously in 1811, edited by his colleague John Richard Farre. It was printed at the expense of the Governors of the Hospital, by subscription, to aid the author's widow.