Orbital pseudotumor--historical origin and modern relevance

Abstract

Purpose: To translate the original article from German in order to understand what the author was describing when Birch-Hirschfeld first used the diagnosis of orbital pseudotumor in 1905. To study why he used that diagnosis in the context of medical care and orbital diagnosis at the beginning of the twentieth century. Then to determine whether the term still has scientific relevance today.

Design: Perspective.

Results: In 1905, orbital pseudotumor was used as a term to describe clinical situations in which modern scientific methods would have provided more accurate and specific diagnoses. The original reasons for its use were a consequence of the limitations of medical care at the juncture of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the nature of orbital diseases more than a century ago.

Conclusions: Orbital pseudotumor should no longer be used as a diagnosis because it is not based on current scientific knowledge. It is not specific and it hinders the application of diagnoses that are more useful in patient management.