In presenting to your notice any observations on the subject of the toxic amblyopias, the recent exhaustive works of Wood and DeSchweinitz render references to the history and literature of the subject entirely superfluous. It is from a study of the work of these gentlemen that I am enabled to appreciate the unusual features in the few cases which I wish to report, and I present them solely for the reason that they do exhibit some points a little out of the ordinary.
The first case was a young man of 26, whom I saw at the request of his physician, Dr. Thomas Henderson, Feb. 28, 1894. Since August, 1893, he had not been able to see to read, though his vision began to fail some months prior to that time. Since 12 or 13 years old he has been addicted to the use, or rather the abuse, of cigarettes,