The History of Electroretinography

Abstract

The eye and its diseases have been studied since the time of the ancient Egypt; therefore, ophthalmology is recognized as one of the first medical specialties to ever exist. Along the years many advances in this area occurred, as the invention of the ophthalmoscope during the 19^th Century and other ancillary methods in the 20^th Century. After the invention of the ophthalmoscope, the observation and study of the retina, the anatomic part of the eye that transforms light energy into electric energy (phototransduction) stimulating the brain to form an image. Electroretinography is an ophthalmic examination that captures this electrical response generated by cells of the retina when stimulated by light. This is an excellent tool for studying the function of the retina, yet it is still a modestly widespread practice in the Brazilian veterinary medicine scenario. This paper aims to review the history of this valuable method of diagnosis.