Superficial Keratitis

In its long series of annual reports the Belgian Society of Ophthal­ mology has a tradition of bringing into focus the recent advances in ophthalmology. But it seems surprising that one has to go back to 1940 to find a major report on the corneal diseases when R. Rub­ brecht wrote an Aperr;u de la pathologie et de la therapeutique generale des maladies de la cornee. However this omission is only apparent. In fact many reports since then have contributed to our knowledge of the advances in corneal research. The corneal dimensions were documented in La biometrie ocu­ laire clinique (Y. Delmarcelle et aI. 1976) the fine structure of the cornea in Lultrastructure de tissues oculaires (L. Missotten 1964) and many aspects of its metabolism in Les verres de contact (P. Cochet et ai 1967) and Les complications oculaires des erreurs congenitales du metabolism (J.P. Groux et O. Kallay 1971) . Bacterial keratitis was a main topic in La therapeutique par les antibiotiques autres que la Penicillamine en Ophtalmologie (1. Michiels 1952). Fungal corneal infections were described in detail in Les mycoses oculaires (J . Fran90is et M. Elewaut-Rysselaere 1968) and the toxic effects of drugs were dealt with in Les effets nocifs des medications generales sur Iappareil visuel (J. Michiels et coil. 1972).