Brass tonometer

Made:
London
maker:
Pickard and Curry
Brass tonometer

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Brass tonometer
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.

Parts

Tonometer, London, England, 1870-1900

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.