Abstract
MINERS' nystagmus is a disease which incapacitates a large number of coalminers, and is estimated by Dr. Lister Llewellyn to cost the country 100,000l. a year. It is characterised by rapid involuntary movements of the eyes, associated with defect of vision, photophobia, and night-blindness. Many theories have been brought forward to account for the disease. Of these the myopathic theory has been most supported in England, chiefly owing to the writings of the late Mr. Simeon Snell, of Sheffield. The work is carried on in constrained positions, often necessitating prolonged exercise of the extra-ocular muscles in an abnormal manner. It is now generally admitted that undue weight was attached to this factor, and attention has been specially directed to the view that the real cause is the poor illumination, a suggestion first made by Romiée, who, however, thought that excessive accommodation was an essential concomitant.
Miners' Nystagmus: its Causes and Prevention.
By Dr. T. Lister Llewellyn. With a preface by Prof. J. S. Haldane, F.R.S., and a legal appendix by Douglas Knocker. Pp. xix + 158 + plates. (London: The Colliery Guardian Co., Ltd., 1912.)
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Miners' Nystagmus: its Causes and Prevention . Nature 91, 30 (1913). https://doi.org/10.1038/091030a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/091030a0