Anton Elschnig

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anton Elschnig (August 22, 1863 - 1939) was an Austrian ophthalmologist, born in Leibnitz. He was an ophthalmic surgeon in Graz and Vienna. From 1907 until 1933 he was a professor and head of the University of Prague Eye Clinic.

He is best known for performing corneal transplants in the early days of keratoplasty, a procedure first performed in 1905 by fellow Austrian ophthalmologist Eduard Zirm (1863-1944). Elschnig describes this surgical procedure in the 1930 Archives of Ophthalmology. He was also publisher of the second and third editions of Albrecht von Graefe's Handbuch der gesammten Augenheilkunde.

Eponymous Ophthamic Terms:

Elschnig's conjunctivitis: conjunctivitis associated with hyperplasia of the tarsal gland.
Elschnig's pearls: pearl-like clusters formed by growth of epithelial cells on the lens of the eye following cataract surgery.
Elschnig's spots: phenomena of black flecks surrounded by yellow and green halos as seen by ophthalmoscope. It occurs in cases of advanced hypertensive retinopathy.