title: The eyes of Woodrow Wilson. Retinal vascular disease and George de Schweinitz.
abstract: Woodrow Wilson suffered a retinal hemorrhage in 1906, which is central to a historical controversy over whether medical problems significantly affected his political behavior prior to his stroke of October 1919. In terms of modern knowledge, the most likely cause of the event of 1906 is a retinal vein occlusion. Confidence in this judgment is gained from evidence that George de Schweinitz, one of the prominent ophthalmologists of his day, examined Wilson and showed through writings that he was well aware of the major categories of retinal vascular disease that are recognized today. Wilson was also subject to more ordinary problems, illustrated by anecdotes about his refractive errors, difficulty in learning to read, asthenopic symptoms, and visual problems with golf.
mesh_terms: D005197:Famous Persons; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009885:Ophthalmology / Q000266:history; D012164:Retinal Diseases / Q000266:history*; D012171:Retinal Vessels; D014481:United States