1. ¹Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine, University College London, London, UK
2. ²Paediatric Ophthalmology Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK

Correspondence: C Reeves, 192 Sheen Court, Richmond, Surrey TW10 5DH, UK. Tel: +44 208 878 0841; E-mail: carole.reeves@dial.pipex.com

The authors have no proprietary interests or research funding relating to this publication.

Received 4 September 2003; Accepted 4 September 2003.

Abstract

We will trace the history of ideas about optic nerve anatomy and function in the Western world from the ancient Greeks to the early 20th century and show how these influenced causal theories of optic nerve diseases. Greek and Roman humoral physiology needed a hollow optic nerve, the obstruction of which prevented the flow of visual spirit to and from the brain and resulted in blindness. Medieval physicians understood that the presence of a fixed dilated pupil indicated optic nerve obstruction, preventing the passage of visual spirit, and that cataract surgery in such cases would not restore sight. During the Renaissance, the organ of vision was transferred from the lens to the optic nerve, which was generally believed to be on the axis of the eye. The acuity of central vision (at the optic disc) was explained by the concentration of visual spirit where the optic nerve met the retina. The growth of anatomy and influence of mechanical philosophy from the 17th century led to visual spirit being replaced with the concept of nerve force, which later became associated with electricity travelling along nerve fibres. This coincided with discourse about the nature of the nervous system and a shift in orientation from understanding illness holistically in terms of an individual's humoral imbalance to the concept of organ-based diseases. Both the microscope and the ophthalmoscope allowed visualisation of the optic nerve, but problems of interpretation persisted until conceptual transformations in medical science were made.