The visual fields: an interdisciplinary history II. neurosurgeons and quantitative perimetry.
When operations for brain tumours became possible, exact charting of visual field defects assumed great importance in diagnosis and in monitoring post-operative progress. This process, known as quantitative perimetry, was energetically practised and taught by Harvey Cushing and by many of his pupils. The advent of non-invasive methods of imaging the brain and the rise of neuro-ophthalmology as an independent discipline were associated with a decline in neurosurgical commitment to quantitative perimetry, but it remains an important branch of the clinical neurosciences.
Simpson
D A
DA
Royal Adelaide Hospital and University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia. donjoan@ozemail.com.au
Crompton
J L
JL
D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009493:Neurosurgery / Q000266:history* / Q000379:methods; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000601:surgery; D058609:Visual Field Tests / Q000266:history* / Q000379:methods; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology*