Posters

Bonaparte's military campaigns in Egypt and Syria and the memoirs, on the endemic ophthalmia of Egypt' by D.J.Larrey

Poster Details

First Author: G.Balanikas GREECE

Co Author(s): D. Peironidis   C. Georgiadou   S. Maloutas   S. Diafas   D. Mitritsas   D. Christodoulou     

Abstract Details

Purpose:

This presentation examines the description by the military physician Dominique Jean Larrey, appointed Chief Surgeon by Napoleon Bonaparte during his campaigns to the East. Larrey describes his experiences from the outbreak of ophthalmia, tries to cite the causes for the condition and also to prevent the contagion to the soldiers. Dominique Jean Larrey wrote a work titled: MEMOIRS OF MILITARY SURGERY AND CAMPAIGNS OF THE FRENCH ARMIES In the chapter titled ‘Campaigns in Egypt and Syria’ a part with title: MEMOIR On the endemic Ophthalmia of Egypt’ is included, which has detailed descriptions of signs and symptoms of the disease.

Setting:

A' Ophthalmologic Clinic of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, AHEPA Hospital The events took place in the Middle East, in Egypt during the military campaign of Napoleon Bonaparte (1798-1801)

Methods:

We used the American edition of Dominique Jean Larrey's work : MEMOIRS OF MILITARY SURGERY AND CAMPAIGNS OF THE FRENCH ARMIES, published in Baltimore in 1814, USA. This book includes a chapter titled ‘CAMPAIGNS IN EGYPT AND SYRIA’ which has a part of 20 pages dedicated to the disease, titled ‘MEMOIR On the endemic Ophthalmia of Egypt’.

Results:

Dominique Jean Larrey did not know the nature and the causes of the disease and he tried to confront it with the medical knowledge of his era. He established some meters to prevent the contamination and the disability of the diseased soldiers. He suggested avoiding of the sunlight, the humidity, the excessive consumption of wine and spirituous liquor and coffee and bad quality of the food. He suggested also the frequent washing of the eyes, the face and the covering of the head.

Conclusions:

Egyptian ophthalmia was an endemic in Middle East disease and the French soldiers got it from the inhabitants of these areas, especially from Egypt. D.J. Larrey, a famous and competent physician, was faced with an epidemic which did not know and expect and tried to stop the dissemination of the disease which affected the combat capability of the army. This epidemic was of the few cases that an ophthalmic condition can cause such a serious disability to a large part of population, as was the French army.

Financial Disclosure:

None