Thomas D. Duane

Thomas David Duane was an American ophthalmologist better known for studies in the field of retina. He identified that the blackouts experienced by wartime pilots during acceleration is due to reduced blood supply to the retina. In 1972, he first described Valsalva retinopathy a form of retinopathy caused by a sudden increase in intrathoracic or intra-abdominal pressure.

Biography Thomas D. Duane was born in 1917, in Peoria, Illinois in United States. As a Shakespearean scholar, Duane studied playwright in England and later graduated from Harvard University. In 1981, He retired as head of the ophthalmology department at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia.

Personal life and death Duane and his wife Julia McElhinney have four children, Joseph M, Andrew T, Alexa D. Bresnan and Rachel D. Lee.

Contributions While working as a Navy Flight Surgeon in the U.S. Navy, during the Korean War, Duane investigated pilots' vision problems and identified the cause of the blackouts experienced by wartime pilots during acceleration. He discovered that blackouts and grayouts experienced by pilots was due to reduced blood supply to the retina. In 1972, he first described Valsalva retinopathy a form of retinopathy occur due to pre-retinal hemorrhage caused by a sudden increase in intrathoracic or intraabdominal pressure.

Duane edited two well known ophthalmology reference works, Clinical Ophthalmology and Biomedical Foundations of Ophthalmology.

Works

Awards and honors Duane has twice received the Lucien Howe Medal, the highest honor in ophthalmology.