122 FARRERAS
origin of cataracts by manipulating ionizing radiation, diet, and different
drugs, in addition to studying the metabolism and growth of the lens.^5
Uveitis, its relation to toxoplasmosis, and its treatment by steroids, was
also a major area of study.^6
The Ophthalmological Disorders Service, headed by James O’Rourke,
was involved in the detection of ocular tumors by radioisotope tracer
methods, especially differentiating between melanomas and other
intraocular tumors.^7 Some research it conducted also involved study
ing the effects of the endocrine glands, especially the thyroid, upon
exacerbations of uveal tract inflammatory disorders, the multiple remis
sions of uveal infections, and the effects of steroid therapy in patients
with uveitis.^8
The Section on Ophthalmology Pharmacology, headed by pharma
cologist Frank J. Macri, focused on the physiology and pathology of
intraocular pressure and its relationship to glaucoma.^9 It also studied
the effects external ocular muscle tension had on intraocular pressure
(i.e., inflow and outflow mechanisms) and the effects of various muscle
relaxants on the extraocular striate and skeletal muscles.^10
Robert A. Resnik was chief of the Section on Ophthalmology
Chemistry which was part of the broader research program on the eti
ology and mechanisms underlying cataracts.^11 Resnik’s section focused
on the enzymatic systems present in the lens, cornea, and aqueous humor,
specifically the fractionation of lens proteins into homogenous com
ponents through base ion exchange resin and ultracentrifuge and
electrophoresis.^12 Enzyme interactions with normal and pathologic eye
tissues were expected to increase understanding of the growth, degene
ration, and form of cataracts.^13
Two sections were established in the fall of 1956: Ophthal
mology Physiology and Ophthalmology Histopathology. Physiologist
Michelangelo Fuortes was recruited for the position of chief of the
Section on Ophthalmology Physiology. Until Fuortes arrived in the
fall of 1956, Hans Bornschein had been working as acting chief on
the lengths, intensity, and rate of rise of photopic stimuli in order to
study accommodation in the optic nerve.^14 This scotopic and photopic
electroretinogram (ERG) would allow for the differential diagnosis and
prognosis of congenital anomalies or hereditary degenerations and