Brass tonometer

Made:: London

maker:: Pickard and Curry

Science Museum Group Collection
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Brass tonometer, for measuring ocular pressure in leather covered case, by Pickard and Curry, 195 Great Portland Street, London, England.

Details

Category:: Ophthalmology

Collection:: Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection

Object Number:: A606932

Materials:: instrument, brass, instrument, steel, instrument, glass, instrument, ivory, case, wood, case, leather and case, velvet, lined

Measurements:: case: length 124 mm
case: width 36 mm
case: height 36 mm

type:: tonometers

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Parts

Tonometer, London, England, 1870-1900

Brass tonometer, for measuring ocular pressure in leather covered case, by Pickard and Curry, 195 Great Portland Street, London, England, 1870-1900.

Tonometers measure pressure within the eye. This is known as intraocular pressure. Glaucoma is a condition where the optic nerve becomes damaged leading to loss of sight. Glaucoma raises intraocular pressure. Tonometers were refined in the 1880s by German physiologist Adolph Eugene Fick (1829-1901). Cocaine was introduced as a local anaesthetic in 1887. This allowed tonometers to be applied directly to the cornea. This brass tonometer was made by instrument makers Pickard and Curry of London.