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Titre	There's music in Belgian ophthalmology
Abstract Nr.	1073

But	To report of an unexpected visitor to an important ophthalmology meeting in Belgium
Méthodes	review of historical information
Résultats	Belgian ophthalmology has a very rich history. For example, the first international congress of ophthalmology was held in Brussels in 1857. It was important mainly because of the recent invention of von Helmholtz' ophthalmoscope and because of the recent problems in Europe with military ophthalmia, now better known as Trachoma. After several military campaigns in northern Africa in the beginning of the 19th century, it had become a serious problem in Europe as well. This led to a large audience for the congress, with 150 delegates from 24 countries. One delegate in particular attracted our attention, due to his fame in a quite a different field of interest: Music. Russian musician and composer Alexander Borodin graduated in 1856 from the Medical Surgical Academy in St Petersburg and was commisioned to join the Russian emperor's oculist, Ivan Ivanovitsj Kabat to attend the Brussels conference as part of the official Russian delegation. In later years, Borodin left clinical medical work behind and focused on chemistry, in which he attained important status, as he did in music. He returned again to Belgium several years later to direct performances of his music.
Conclusion	The great international appeal of the 1857 international ophthalmology meeting in Brussels attracted not only ophthalmologists (among who, as in the present day, are without a doubt several enthousiastic amateur musicians), but also a man who would become celebrated in both chemistry and music. Even though in the present day such a double career would be nearly impossible to realise, there certainly still is a lot of music in Belgian ophthalmology!

Auteur 1

Nom	VAN OS
Initiales	L
Institut	UZA
Ville	Edegem

Auteur 2

Nom	de Keizer
Initiales	RJW
Institut	UZA
Ville	Edegem