FROM time to time the exigencies of the private practice of medicine present one with fortunate problems the solution of which leads to new developments. In a case in point, that of an intraocular foreign body, it became a medicolegal necessity to demonstrate whether or not the associated traumatic cataract was progressive. It was obvious that depiction by a medical artist might be suspect and could at best not be completely objective, to say nothing of the cost. A photographic method was indicated, but none satisfactory was available.
After some thought, it seemed feasible to use the Nordensen fundus camera to photograph the cataract as viewed ophthalmoscopically by transillumination—in other words, to photograph the red reflex. Brief experimentation produced some remarkable results.
A review of the literature1 on the use of the fundus camera showed no evidence of previous description of this surprisingly simple method. The technic consists in