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I’ve heard people argue that Monet could see UV light after having cataract surgery as his lens was removed. Others argue that this wasn’t the case, but it’s i

I’ve heard people argue that Monet could see UV light after having cataract surgery as his lens was removed. Others argue that this wasn’t the case, but it’s interesting either way. https://www.quora.com/Could-Monet-really-see-Ultraviolet-light?top_ans=23296993 https://www.quora.com/Could-Monet-really-see-Ultraviolet-lig...

leetrout 4y ago
This made me wonder how long we have been doing cataract surgery... > In 1753, Samuel Sharp performed the first documented intracapsular cataract extraction (ICCE). I would not have guessed 1753.
- Trouble_007 4y ago
  Interestingly, this entry would indicate much earlier; [1]>Cataract surgery was first described by the Ayurvedic physician, Suśruta (about 5th century BCE) in Sushruta Samhita in ancient India. Most of the methods mentioned focus on hygiene. Follow-up treatments include bandaging of the eye and covering the eye with warm butter. References to cataracts and their treatment in Ancient Rome are also found in 29 AD in De Medicinae, the work of the Latin encyclopedist Aulus Cornelius Celsus. Archaeological evidence of eye surgery in the Roman era also exists. Galen of Pergamon (ca. 2nd century CE), a prominent Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher, performed an operation similar to modern cataract surgery. Using a needle-shaped instrument, Galen attempted to remove the cataract-affected lens of the eye. Muslim ophthalmologist Ammar Al-Mawsili, in his The Book of Choice in Ophthalmology, written circa 1000 CE, wrote of his invention of a syringe and the technique of cataract extraction while experimenting with it on a patient. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataract#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataract#History
  - leetrout 4y ago
    That is mind-boggling. It is hard for me to imagine how much humans had over the centuries given my reliance on technology.
blincoln 4y ago
I don't know about Monet specifically, but the ability to see UV light after having cornea replacements that aren't tinted is pretty well-documented.[1] Our retinas don't have dedicated UV receptors, though, so it's not like getting an additional primary colour beyond red/green/blue. [1] I first read about it years ago at https://www.komar.org/faq/colorado-cataract-surgery-crystalens/ultra-violet-color-glow/ https://www.komar.org/faq/colorado-cataract-surgery-crystale...

leetrout 4y ago

This made me wonder how long we have been doing cataract surgery... > In 1753, Samuel Sharp performed the first documented intracapsular cataract extraction (ICCE). I would not have guessed 1753.

Trouble_007 4y ago
Interestingly, this entry would indicate much earlier; [1]>Cataract surgery was first described by the Ayurvedic physician, Suśruta (about 5th century BCE) in Sushruta Samhita in ancient India. Most of the methods mentioned focus on hygiene. Follow-up treatments include bandaging of the eye and covering the eye with warm butter. References to cataracts and their treatment in Ancient Rome are also found in 29 AD in De Medicinae, the work of the Latin encyclopedist Aulus Cornelius Celsus. Archaeological evidence of eye surgery in the Roman era also exists. Galen of Pergamon (ca. 2nd century CE), a prominent Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher, performed an operation similar to modern cataract surgery. Using a needle-shaped instrument, Galen attempted to remove the cataract-affected lens of the eye. Muslim ophthalmologist Ammar Al-Mawsili, in his The Book of Choice in Ophthalmology, written circa 1000 CE, wrote of his invention of a syringe and the technique of cataract extraction while experimenting with it on a patient. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataract#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataract#History
- leetrout 4y ago
  That is mind-boggling. It is hard for me to imagine how much humans had over the centuries given my reliance on technology.

blincoln 4y ago

I don't know about Monet specifically, but the ability to see UV light after having cornea replacements that aren't tinted is pretty well-documented.[1] Our retinas don't have dedicated UV receptors, though, so it's not like getting an additional primary colour beyond red/green/blue. [1] I first read about it years ago at https://www.komar.org/faq/colorado-cataract-surgery-crystalens/ultra-violet-color-glow/ https://www.komar.org/faq/colorado-cataract-surgery-crystale...