Anton Elschnig

–Anton Elschnig (August 22, 1863 – 1939) was an Austrian ophthalmologist born in Leibnitz.

In 1912 he earned his medical doctorate, and later worked as an assistant at ophthalmology clinics in Graz and Vienna. In 1892 he received his habilitation at the University of Graz, and from 1907 to 1933 was a full professor and head of the University of Prague Eye Clinic.

He is best known for performing corneal transplants in the early days of keratoplasty, being credited with developing a method introduced by Eugen von Hippel (1867-1939). Elschnig described this surgical procedure in the 1930 Archives of Ophthalmology.

He was the publisher of the second and third editions of the Graefe-Saemisch Handbuch der gesamten Augenheilkunde.

Eponymous Ophthalmic 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 capsule in secondary cataract formation.
• "Elschnig's spots": phenomena of black flecks surrounded by yellow or red halos as seen by ophthalmoscope. It occurs in cases of advanced hypertensive retinopathy, represent focal choroidal infarcts.

External References

• Ophthalmology Hall of Fame (biography and photograph)
• "Anton Elschnig" @ Who Named It