True polycoria actually is a condition in which there is more than one pupil and the multiple pupils all have a sphincter and the ability to contract.” Polycoria can vary greatly in appearance. According to the Handbook of Pediatric Neuro-Ophthalmology (2006), polycoria is described as “a condition in which there are many openings in the iris that result from local hypoplasia of the iris stroma and pigment epithelium. McDaniel suggested that other eye conditions may have been translated from 12th century Greek scholar Eustathius to read “double pupil” but that the writer more likely meant “unlike pupils.” He asserted that cases of heterochromia of the irises or coloboma of the iris were what some ancient writers meant when describing “double pupils.” POLYCORIAĪlthough the term “pupula duplex” is practically non-existent in modern medical literature, a condition known as polycoria could roughly resemble two irises in certain cases. While it is probably a fact that there is no such thing among human beings as a double pupil, that is to say, as two real pupils, in one eye, each opening possessing a sphincter muscle enabling it to contract and dilate, there are appearances of the eye which would lead an ancient to discern two pupils where there existed only one real one, or to regard a twofold (duplex) enlargement of the normal opening as practically the equivalent of two.” “In passing to the phenomenon of the pupula duplex, we may define the physical basis for the superstition much more narrowly and I hope quite convincingly. McDaniel took some of Smith’s assertions to task, and presented additional explanations for the “pupula duplex” references: He also postulated that pupula duplex may have merely been symbolic, or that it could have been translated by authors “without knowing what the word really meant.” Smith concluded that “pupula duplex” could have meant double pupil but it could also have been interpreted to mean heterochromia, a rare condition in which a person has eyes of multiple colors. Walton Brooks McDaniel discussed the phrase in great detail in his essay, “The Pupula Duplex and Other Tokens of an “Evil Eye” in the Light of Ophthalmology.”McDaniel’s 1918 essay expands upon, and often refutes, an earlier essay by Kirby Flower Smith’s entitled “Pupula Duplex” from 1902. The meaning of “pupula duplex” – from Latin, translated as “double pupil” – was debated in writings around the turn of the 20th century in attempts to determine if this “evil eye” was an actual physical condition, or merely symbolism used by ancient writers. The phrase “pupula duplex” can be traced back to Ovid, and other ancient writers who referred to it as the “Evil Eye.” But is this condition real or simply a myth? ABOUT “PUPULA DUPLEX” ![]() ![]() “Pupula Duplex” is said to be a rare condition in which a person has two irises and two pupils in one eye. This is a wax statue of Liu Ch’ung in the Ripley’s museum.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |