Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Anatomy of the Eyeball

Anatomy of the Eyeball

The eye is a spherical, hollow structure composed of three tissue layers. The outer layer — the fibrous tunic, comprises the sclera — a white structure — and the cornea, which is transparent. The sclera encompasses some of the ocular surface, most of which is not visible. However, the 'white of the eye' is distinctively visible in humans compared to other species. The cornea, a clear covering at the front of the eye, enables light penetration. The eye's middle...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Illustrations of the cerebrovascular system in Florentius Schuyl's Latin editions (1662, 1664) of René Descartes' <i>Treatise on Man</i>.

Journal of the history of the neurosciences·2025

Same author

In memoriam Robert Barry Daroff, M.D. (1936-2025).

Journal of the history of the neurosciences·2025

Same author

Illustrations of the pineal gland in Descartes' oeuvre.

Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery·2024

Same author

The conflicts of Ray Adams and Joe Foley with Abe Baker: The neurology and neuropathology of liver failure (1949-1963) and the founding of the American Academy of Neurology (1948).

Journal of the history of the neurosciences·2024

Same author

The collaboration of Francis Forster and Wilder Penfield in the management of a girl with 'reflex epilepsy'.

Journal of the history of the neurosciences·2024

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 15, 2025

Partial Optic Nerve Transection in Rats: A Model Established with a New Operative Approach to Assess Secondary Degeneration of Retinal Ganglion Cells

Partial Optic Nerve Transection in Rats: A Model Established with a New Operative Approach to Assess Secondary Degeneration of Retinal Ganglion Cells

Published on: October 15, 2017

Charcot's erroneous double-semidecussation scheme for the retinocortical visual pathways.

Douglas J Lanska¹

¹Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.

Journal of the History of the Neurosciences

|August 26, 2024

Summary

Jean-Martin Charcot

Keywords:

Hemianopsia Jean-Martin Charcot history of medicine optic chiasm optic tract visual cortex visual pathways

More Related Videos

Dynamic Visual Tests to Identify and Quantify Visual Damage and Repair Following Demyelination in Optic Neuritis Patients

Dynamic Visual Tests to Identify and Quantify Visual Damage and Repair Following Demyelination in Optic Neuritis Patients

Published on: April 14, 2014

Assessing Binocular Central Visual Field and Binocular Eye Movements in a Dichoptic Viewing Condition

Assessing Binocular Central Visual Field and Binocular Eye Movements in a Dichoptic Viewing Condition

Published on: July 21, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 15, 2025

Partial Optic Nerve Transection in Rats: A Model Established with a New Operative Approach to Assess Secondary Degeneration of Retinal Ganglion Cells

Partial Optic Nerve Transection in Rats: A Model Established with a New Operative Approach to Assess Secondary Degeneration of Retinal Ganglion Cells

Published on: October 15, 2017

Dynamic Visual Tests to Identify and Quantify Visual Damage and Repair Following Demyelination in Optic Neuritis Patients

Dynamic Visual Tests to Identify and Quantify Visual Damage and Repair Following Demyelination in Optic Neuritis Patients

Published on: April 14, 2014

Assessing Binocular Central Visual Field and Binocular Eye Movements in a Dichoptic Viewing Condition

Assessing Binocular Central Visual Field and Binocular Eye Movements in a Dichoptic Viewing Condition

Published on: July 21, 2020

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Ophthalmology
History of Medicine

Background:

Jean-Martin Charcot proposed a flawed neuroanatomic scheme for visual pathways in 1875.
His theory aimed to explain hysterical amblyopia with ipsilateral hemianaesthesia.
Charcot's scheme contradicted established models and relied on incorrect assumptions.

Purpose of the Study:

To analyze the historical blunder of Charcot's retinocortical visual pathway scheme.
To examine the neuroanatomic basis and clinical inconsistencies of Charcot's theory.
To trace the challenges and eventual refutation of Charcot's erroneous model.

Main Methods:

Historical analysis of scientific literature and theories.
Review of neuroanatomic principles of visual pathways.
Examination of clinicopathologic correlation studies and critiques.

Main Results:

Charcot's double-semidecussation scheme was based on erroneous conclusions about visual pathway lesions.
The scheme incorrectly linked specific lesion locations to visual field defects.
Internal and external critiques, notably by Moses Starr, led to its discrediting.

Conclusions:

Charcot's proposed visual pathway scheme was a significant error in the history of neuroscience.
The failure to perform clinicopathologic correlations undermined his neuroanatomic explanations.
The eventual acceptance of Albrecht von Gräfe's model highlights the importance of empirical evidence in science.