Ophthalmological collection

The Eye Clinic owns 50 historical ophthalmological examination devices. They form – among other assemblages – the core of the collection. This very rare equipment mainly dates from the period 1890 to 1910 and reflects the development of ophthalmology at that time. It was not until the second half of the nineteenth century that ophthalmology established itself as an independent university subject. An eye clinic was founded in Tübingen in 1875.

The objects in the collection serve primarily to illustrate and visually explain the history of ophthalmological research, which is based in Tübingen in the research area “History of Ophthalmology”.

To the collection in the eMuseum (selection)

Highlights of the Collection

Box with bobbin- and matchbox-like containers, labelled per hand
At the Ophthalmological clinic in Tübingen, foreign bodies removed from patients' eyes were collected over many years Setzkasten mit spulen- und streichholzschachtelartigen kleinen Boxen darin, verschieden mit Hand beschriftet
In this collection of foreign bodies, objects ranging from grains of sand to 10-cm-long steel screws can be discovered in a wide variety of textures and sizes, packed in paper boxes elaborately decorated with colored paper
Round and rectangular containers, open to look at the grains, needles, and in one case a screw inside
Golden metal instrument with a binocular-like attachment on top
Binocular Cornealoupe according to Zehender and Westien, 1886; The Cornealoupe is a magnifying glass specially designed for the examination of the cornea (lat. Cornea)

Visit collection

Opening hours

Only parts of the collection are currently open to the public

Tours

Tours currently not available

Curator

Administration
Prof. Dr. Jens Martin Rohrbach
Tel: 07071-2984761

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Admission

Free of charge

Address

University Eye Hospital Tübingen | Department of Ophthalmology
Elfriede-Aulhorn-Straße 7
72076 Tübingen