Historical Vignette: Johann Friedrich Horner (1831–1886): Swiss Ophthalmologist, Scientific Contributor, and Accomplished Academician

Abstract

Johann Friedrich Horner was a Swiss ophthalmologist who was the founder of modern ophthalmology in his country and who established the first academic department of ophthalmology at the University of Zürich (Figure 1).^1–3

He was widely published on a great number of medical topics, but is best known for his description of a triad of clinical findings that include unilateral ptosis, miosis, and anhydrosis, commonly referred to as Horner syndrome. Although Horner was not the first to describe these characteristics,^4–7 he is recognized as the first to provide the detailed and scientifically supported description of the manifestations of this syndrome in humans and accurately interpreting the signs of sympathetic nerve damage.^8,9

• Johann Friedrich Horner
• historical vignette
• Horner syndrome
• Bernard-Horner syndrome
• Claude Bernard
• ptosis
• miosis and anhydrosis
• oculosympathetic paresis