; died May 3, 1968) was a professor of ophthalmology

Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...

 at der Zurich Eye Clinic at the University of Zurich

University of Zurich

The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....

.
He took the position as professor of ophthalmology in Zurich in 1944. His predecessor was Prof. Alfred Vogt. Prior to assuming the position at Zurich, Dr. Amsler was chief ophthalmologist in Lausanne

Lausanne

Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...

, since 1935. His predecessor there, under whom he worked beforehand, was Jules Gonin

Jules Gonin

Jules Gonin was a Professor of Ophthalmology in Lausanne who pioneered the procedure of ignipuncture, the first successful surgery for the treatment of retinal detachments.-External links:** at www.ascrs.org...

. He is best known for the Amsler grid

Amsler grid

The Amsler grid, used since 1945, is a grid of horizontal and vertical lines used to monitor a person's central visual field. The grid was developed by Marc Amsler, a Swiss ophthalmologist. It is a diagnostic tool that aids in the detection of visual disturbances caused by changes in the retina,...

 test. He also contributed to the progress in understanding of uveitis

Uveitis

Uveitis specifically refers to inflammation of the middle layer of the eye, termed the "uvea" but in common usage may refer to any inflammatory process involving the interior of the eye....

. The Amsler grid was an improvement over the initial work done by the ophthalmologist Edmond Landolt. The grid tests the function of the macula

Macula

The macula or macula lutea is an oval-shaped highly pigmented yellow spot near the center of the retina of the human eye. It has a diameter of around 5 mm and is often histologically defined as having two or more layers of ganglion cells...

, a part of the retina

Retina

The vertebrate retina is a light-sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye. The optics of the eye create an image of the visual world on the retina, which serves much the same function as the film in a camera. Light striking the retina initiates a cascade of chemical and electrical...

, so that macular degeneration

Macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration is a medical condition which usually affects older adults and results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field because of damage to the retina. It occurs in “dry” and “wet” forms. It is a major cause of blindness and visual impairment in older adults...

 can be identified. Amsler also published works on keratoconus

Keratoconus

Keratoconus , is a degenerative disorder of the eye in which structural changes within the cornea cause it to thin and change to a more conical shape than its normal gradual curve....

. In 1951, Dr. Amsler performed the first corneal transplantation at the Zurich Eye clinic. He was professor and chief of the Zurich Eye Clinic until 1961. His successor was Rudolf Witmer.

Selected works

• Le keratocone fruste au Javal. Ophthalmologica, Basel, 1938, 96: 77-83.
• Heterochromie de Fuchs et fragilite vasculaire. With Florian Verrey.

Ophthalmologica, Basel, 1946, 111: 177.

• Lehrbuch der Augenheilkunde. Basel, Karger, 1948. 858 pages.

M. Amsler, A. Brückner, Adolphe Franceschetti, Hans Goldmann u. Enrico Bernardo Streiff , editors:
New edition 1954, 927 pages.
Third edition, Basel, Freiburg im Breisgau, New York : Karger, 1961. 1011 pages.

• Quantitative and qualitative vision. Transactions of the Ophthalmological Society of the United Kingdom, London, 1949, 69: 397-410.
• Mydriase et myose directes et instantanées par les médiateurs chimiques.

with Florian Verrey.
Annales d'oculistique, Paris, December 1949, 182 (12): 936.

• Earliest symptoms of diseases of the macula.

The British Journal of Ophthalmology, London, 1953, 37: 521-537.

• L‘Humeur Aqueuse et ses Fonctions.

With Florian Verrey u. Alfred Huber. Paris, Masson, 1955.