Kapronczay Károly szerk.: Orvostörténeti Közlemények 198-199. (Budapest, 2007)

ADATTÁR — DOCUMENTS - CSAPODY István: Látás-próbák

SUMMARY István Csapodi - author's grandfather - created the first tables in Hungary for examination of the sight, completed by a booklet of reading-tests for examination of short-space sight. Csapodi emphasized, that these tools were to be structured similarily based upon congruent principles. Since first edition proved rather successful, further editions followed. New editions were always improved according to international trends of the profession. Being the reading-test a popular tool of practicing ophthalmologists, in spite of its several editions it served its basic structure during almost a century. The wall-tables used for examination of long space sight however changed a lot in the course of times regarding their formate, size and design, respectively. E.g. in the first editions in the first line stood only a single lettera method still alive in the Anglo-Saxon world - then letter-pairs, and number-pairs appeared. Later on the same sign emerged in the further lines six or more times. Since this proved to be a failure, the lines were cut shorter. On the later tables - according to the internationally accepted system and to the Snellen-principle - letters, numbers, Landolt-rings, and Ammon-signs were used. In the beginning practice needed smaller and by the physician easily movable wall-tables - so the table usually consisted of a more-folded paper, or of a leporelló. Later the wall-table became bigger, the eighth edition included already a mounted, prefabricated wall-table, as a supplement. Since the reading test was easily polluted by the ferquent use, the prevoius editions included some extra sheets, but only some pages were covered by plastique clothes. From the eight edition onward all the pages were printed onto special cleanable paper. The booklet - being a practical tool - publishes those tabl es and illustrations as well which are to be found in hardly accessible publications. E.g. the Maddox-scale - for diagnosis of eye-muscle balance disorder - or the Amsler scheme used for the examination of central sight - completed by other illustrations and tools as well helping the ophthalmologist's work.