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BACK-OF-THE-ENVELOPE QUANTUM MECHANICS

With Extensions to Many-Body Systems, Integrable PDEs, and Rare and Exotic Methods
Second Edition
Copyright © 2024 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
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To Dimitri, Mark, Laura, Sophia, Milena, and to my Father
This page intentionally left blank
 Preface

As I now realize it, this book was uniquely inspired by Professor Krainov’s
course on qualitative methods in physical kinetics that I attended at the
Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (National Research Nuclear Univer-
sity MEPhI nowadays) thirty years ago. As we students would learn in
a more rigorous class to follow, in physical kinetics, even the most basic
results require laborious multi-page derivations. But Krainov’s course and
his book published later by the American Institute of Physics taught us
that if one is not interested in the exact values of prefactors, then ten pages
of calculations can be replaced by two short lines on the back of an envelope;
and in some cases, even a postal stamp would suffice.
The book you are about to read is based on the problems assigned
in a graduate course in quantum mechanics that I have been teaching at
the University of Massachusetts Boston for many years. Similarly to the
physical kinetics classes I attended at the MEPhI, the discussion on any
new topic in my class would invariably start from a series of qualitative
problems. When I realized I had more than fifty of them, I decided to
assemble them in a book.
In this book, I clearly distinguish between the dimensional and the order-
of-magnitude estimates. Dimensional analysis is a powerful method to
analyze new unexplored equations, but it fails when there are too many
dimensionless parameters involved. In an order-of-magnitude estimate—
a calculation where all angles are 90◦ , all numbers are unity, and all inte-
grals are just “height times width”—one needs to understand the physics
behind the process really well; as a reward, the method is nearly universal.
Approximately half of the book is devoted to the estimates based
on either semi-classical approximation or on perturbation theory expan-
sions in elementary quantum mechanics. Thanks to a reduced number of

vii
viii Back-of-the-Envelope Quantum Mechanics

independent dimensionful parameters in the domains of applicability of

these theories, both dimensional and order-of-magnitude approaches are
ideally suited there.
A sequence of variational problems is also included. The breadth and
elegance of variational reasoning makes it a valuable tool in a preliminary
analysis of a problem; determination of the parity of the ground state in a
well is a good example. Furthermore, even the quantitative results obtained
from simple one-parametric variational ansatzes still fit on an envelope.
Similarly, I could not resist including several powerful results produced
by applying the Hellmann-Feynman theorem to integrable many-body quan-
tum systems. Unlike other methods considered, it produces exact answers;
those can also be obtained in a few lines.
The integrable partial differential equations serve as an example of a field
where there are no innate measurement units, and yet dimensional analysis
can be deployed; the dependence of the size of a Koteweg-de Vries soliton
on its speed is a typical application of the method.
This book contains both solved problems and exercises. The order of the
solved problems is important: the sequence gradually prepares the reader
for the problems without solutions. Minimal theoretical background is pro-
vided as well. Several lesser known theoretical facts are attached to the re-
spective “Background” sections as “Problems linked to the ‘Background’ ”.
Various approximate and qualitative methods are compared in three case
studies: of a hybrid, harmonic-quartic oscillator, of a “halved” harmonic
oscillator, and of a gravitational well.
This book would not have been possible without input from all the
students I have taught in my quantum mechanics courses at UMass Boston
and at the University of Southern California before it. Special thanks to
Vladimir Pavlovich Krainov for introducing me to qualitative methods, first
as a professor and, later on, as my first research project adviser. Further
interactions with my mentors, Vladimir Minogin and Yvan Castin, inspired
many new problems for the book and shaped its structure.
A good half of this book was compiled during quiet Mediterranean
nights, profiting from the free internet in the lobby of the Galil Hotel in
Netanya, Israel. Many thanks to its stuff for the cookies they were
incessantly feeding me throughout those nights.
This is an appropriate place to thank my friends—Vincent Lorent, Lana
Jitomirskaya, Vanja Dunjko, Lena Dotsenko, and Paul Gron—for standing
by my side in good and in bad times.
 Preface ix

I am immensely grateful to Zaijong Hwang and Vanja Dunjko for a

thorough critical reading of the manuscript.
Finally, I would like to thank my wife Milena Gueorguieva for correcting
commas, articles, and awkward sentences and my son Mark Olchanyi for
producing the cover art.

Maxim Olshanii
Boston, Massachusetts
January 14, 2013

Second Edition: an update. Misprints of the First Edition have been cor-
rected. I am especially grateful to Robert Barr and Mary Fries for spotting
most of them.
I am indebted to all the students in my Estimates in Physics class, at
UMass Boston: they were the first readers and the first critics of almost all
the new problems.
Again, I am immensely grateful to Zaijong Hwang and Vanja Dunjko
for a thorough critical reading of the manuscript, both editions.
The Second Edition features two new Chapters: Chapter 2, A dimen-
sional estimate for Planck’s energy: a Case Study and Chapter 12, Rare
and exotic methods in elementary quantum mechanics and beyond.
Chapter 2 complements the Chapter 1; the combination of the two
serves as an introduction to varios types of estimates. The new Chapter is
also intended to demonstrate that unlike for any other method in physics,
dimensional analysis does not require any knowledge in the field to which
the method is applied.
The First Edition of the book was devoted to the generally applicable
shortcuts that allow one to bypass solving differential equations, computing
complicated integrals, and diagonalizing infinite-size matrices. These short-
cuts included: order-of-magnitude estimates, dimensional analysis, and
variational methods. The Chapter 12, which makes its first appearance
in the Second Edition, complements this list: it focusses on the methods
whose applicability is limited to a narrow class of problems.

Maxim Olshanii
Boston, Massachusetts
March 15, 2023
This page intentionally left blank
 Contents

Preface vii
1. Ground State Energy of a Hybrid Harmonic-Quartic
Oscillator: a Case Study 1
1.1 Solved problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1 Dimensional analysis and why it fails
in this case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1.1 Side comment: dimensional analysis
and approximations . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.1.1.2 Side comment: how to recast input
equations in a dimensionless form . . . . 7
1.1.2 Dimensional analysis: the harmonic oscillator
alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.1.3 Order-of-magnitude estimate: full solution . . . . 10
1.1.3.1 Order-of-magnitude estimates vis-a-vis
dimensional analysis . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.1.3.2 Harmonic vs. quartic regimes . . . . . . 11
1.1.3.3 The harmonic oscillator alone . . . . . . 12
1.1.3.4 The quartic oscillator alone . . . . . . . 12
1.1.3.5 The boundary between the regimes and
the final result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.1.4 An afterthought: boundary between regimes from
dimensional considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.1.5 A Gaussian variational solution . . . . . . . . . . 14

xi
xii Back-of-the-Envelope Quantum Mechanics

2. A dimensional estimate for the Planck temperature:

a Case Study 17
2.1 Solved problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.1.1 Estimating the Planck temperature . . . . . . . . 17

3. Bohr-Sommerfeld Quantization 25
3.1 Solved problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.1.1 Ground state energy of a harmonic oscillator . . . 25
3.1.2 Spectrum of a harmonic oscillator . . . . . . . . . 26
3.1.3 WKB treatment of a “straightened” harmonic
oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.1.4 Ground state energy of power-law potentials . . . 30
3.1.5 Spectrum of power-law potentials . . . . . . . . . 31
3.1.6 The number of bound states of a diatomic
molecule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.1.7 Coulomb problem at zero angular momentum . . 34
3.1.8 Quantization of angular momentum
from WKB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.1.9 From WKB quantization of 4D angular momentum
to quantization of the Coulomb problem . . . . . . 39
3.1.10 Ground state energy of a logarithmic potential, a
WKB analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.2 Problems without provided solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.2.1 Size of a neutral meson in Schwinger’s toy model
of quark confinement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.2.2 Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization for periodic
boundary conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.2.3 Ground state energy of multi-dimensional
power-law potentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.2.4 1D box as a limit of power-law potentials . . . . . 43
3.2.5 Ground state energy of a logarithmic potential,
an estimate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.2.6 Spectrum of a logarithmic potential . . . . . . . . 45
3.2.7 Closest approach to a logarithmic hill and to
power-law hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.2.8 Spin-1/2 in the field of a wire . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
 Contents xiii

3.2.9 Dimensional analysis of the time-dependent

Schrödinger equation for a hybrid
harmonic-quartic oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.3 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.3.1 Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.3.2 Multi-dimensional WKB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.4 Problems linked to the “Background” . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.4.1 Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization for one soft turning
point and a hard wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.4.2 Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization for two
hard walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

4. “Halved” Harmonic Oscillator: a Case Study 53

4.1 Solved problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.1.1 Dimensional analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.1.2 Order-of-magnitude estimate . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.1.3 Another order-of-magnitude estimate . . . . . . . 55
4.1.4 Straightforward WKB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
4.1.5 Exact solution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

5. Semi-Classical Matrix Elements of Observables and

Perturbation Theory 59
5.1 Solved problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.1.1 Quantum expectation value of x6 in a harmonic
oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
5.1.2 Expectation value of r2 for a circular
Coulomb orbit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
5.1.3 WKB approximation for some integrals involving
spherical harmonics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
5.1.4 Ground state wavefunction of a
one-dimensional box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
5.1.5 Eigenstates of the harmonic oscillator at the origin:
how a factor of two can restore a quantum-classical
correspondence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
5.1.6 Probability density distribution in a “straightened”
harmonic oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
5.1.7 Eigenstates of a quartic potential at the origin . . 70
xiv Back-of-the-Envelope Quantum Mechanics

5.1.8 Perturbation theory with exact and semi-classical

matrix elements for a harmonic oscillator
perturbed by a quartic correction or . . . . . . . 71
5.1.9 . . . or by a cubic correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5.1.10 Shift of the energy of the first excited state . . . . 75
5.1.11 Impossible potentials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
5.1.12 Correction to the frequency of a harmonic oscillator
as a perturbation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
5.1.13 Outer orbital of sodium atom . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
5.1.14 Relative contributions of the expectation values of
the unperturbed Hamiltonian and the perturbation
to the first and the second order perturbation
theory correction to energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
5.2 Problems without provided solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
5.2.1 A perturbation theory estimate . . . . . . . . . . . 88
5.2.2 Eigenstates of a two-dimensional harmonic
oscillator at the origin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
5.2.3 Approximate WKB expressions for matrix
elements of observables in a harmonic
oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.2.4 Off-diagonal matrix elements of the spatial
coordinate for a particle in a box . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.2.5 Harmonic oscillator perturbed by a δ-potential, . . . 91
5.2.6 . . . and by a uniform field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
5.2.7 Perturbative expansion of the expectation value of
the perturbation itself and the virial theorem . . . 92
5.2.8 A little theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
5.3 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
5.3.1 Matrix elements of operators in the WKB
approximation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
5.3.2 Perturbation theory: a brief summary . . . . . . . 96
5.3.3 Non-positivity of the second order perturbation
theory shift of the ground state energy . . . . . . 97

6. Variational Problems 99
6.1 Solved problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
6.1.1 Inserting a wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
6.1.2 Parity of the eigenstates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
 Contents xv

6.1.3 Simple variational estimate for the ground state

energy of a harmonic oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . 100
6.1.4 A property of variational estimates . . . . . . . . 101
6.1.5 Absence of nodes in the ground state . . . . . . . 103
6.1.6 Absence of degeneracy of the ground state
energy level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
6.2 Problems without provided solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
6.2.1 Do stronger potentials always lead to higher
ground state energies? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
6.2.2 Variational analysis meets perturbation theory . . 106
6.2.3 Another variational estimate for the ground state
energy of a harmonic oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
6.2.4 . . . and yet another . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
6.2.5 Gaussian- and wedge- variational ground state
energy of a quartic oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
6.3 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
6.3.1 Variational analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
6.4 Problems linked to the “Background” . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
6.4.1 Complex vs. real variational spaces . . . . . . . . 109
6.4.2 A proof that the (ψ 0 )2 energy functional does not
have minima with discontinuous derivatives . . . . 111

7. Gravitational Well: a Case Study 113

7.1 Solved problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
7.1.1 Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization . . . . . . . . . . . 113
7.1.2 A WKB-based order-of-magnitude estimate for the
spectrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
7.1.3 A WKB-based dimensional estimate
for the spectrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
7.1.4 A perturbative calculation of the shift of the
energy levels under a small change in the
coupling constant. The first order . . . . . . . . . 116
7.1.5 A dimensional estimate for the perturbative
correction to the spectrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
7.1.6 A perturbative calculation of the shift of the
energy levels under a small change in the
coupling constant. The second order . . . . . . . . 119
7.1.7 A simple variational treatment of the ground state
of a gravitational well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
xvi Back-of-the-Envelope Quantum Mechanics

8. Miscellaneous 123
8.1 Solved problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
8.1.1 A dimensional approach to the question of the
number of bound states in δ-potential well . . . . . 123
8.1.2 . . . and in a Pöschl-Teller potential . . . . . . . . . 124
8.1.3 Existence of lossless eigenstates in the
1/x2 -potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
8.1.4 On the absence of the unitary limit in two
dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

9. The Hellmann-Feynman Theorem 129

9.1 Solved problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
9.1.1 Lieb-Liniger model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
9.1.2 Expectation values of 1/r2 and 1/r in the
Coulomb problem, using the Hellmann-Feynman
theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
9.1.3 Expectation value of the trapping energy in the
ground state of the Calogero system . . . . . . . . 133
9.1.4 Virial theorem from the Hellmann-Feynman
theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
9.2 Problems without provided solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
9.2.1 Virial theorem for the logarithmic potential and its
corollaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
9.3 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
9.3.1 The Hellmann-Feynman theorem . . . . . . . . . . 137

10. Local Density Approximation Theories 139

10.1 Solved problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
10.1.1 A Thomas-Fermi estimate for the atom size and
total ionization energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
10.1.2 The size of an ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
10.1.3 Time-dependent Thomas-Fermi model for
cold bosons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
10.2 Problems without provided solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
10.2.1 The quantum dot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
10.2.2 Dimensional analysis of an atom beyond the
Thomas-Fermi model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
 Contents xvii

11. Integrable Partial Differential Equations 145

11.1 Solved problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
11.1.1 Solitons of the Korteweg-de Vries equation . . . . 145
11.1.2 Breathers of the nonlinear Schrödinger
equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
11.1.3 Healing length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
11.1.4 Dimensional analysis of the projectile
problem as a prelude to a discussion on the
Kadomtsev-Petviashvili solitons . . . . . . . . . . 150
11.1.5 Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation . . . . . . . . . . 152
11.1.6 The nonlinear transport equation . . . . . . . . . 154
11.1.7 Burgers equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
11.2 Problems without provided solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
11.2.1 Stationary solitons of the Burgers equation . . . . 161
11.2.2 Stationary solitons of the nonlinear Schrödinger
equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
11.2.3 Solitons of the sine-Gordon equation . . . . . . . . 162

12. Rare and exotic methods in elementary quantum

mechanics and beyond 163
12.1 Solved problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
12.1.1 Quantum-mechanical supersymmetry
(QM-SUSY): Pöschl-Teller as an example . . . . . 163
12.1.2 What the supersymmetric structure alone implies
for the scattering states of the Pöschl-Teller
potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
12.1.3 Power-index method. Example of the nonlinear
Schrödinger equation, with the Pöschl-Teller
problem as a byproduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
12.1.4 A stationary-kink solution of the Burgers equation
through the power-index method . . . . . . . . . . 169
12.1.5 Scale invariance: quantum Calogero potential as
an example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
12.1.6 Classical Calogero potential: a posteriori
manifestations of the scale invariance . . . . . . . 172
xviii Back-of-the-Envelope Quantum Mechanics

12.1.7 Classical Calogero potential: a priori manifesta-

tions of scale invariance at the Maupertuis-Jacobi
level. Finding the zero-energy orbit from
symmetries alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
12.1.8 Circle inversion, quantum: zero-energy eigenstates
in a 1/r4 potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
12.1.9 Self-similar tilings: moment of inertia of an
equilateral triangle as a paradigm . . . . . . . . . 179
12.1.10 Properties of the spectrum of an equilateral
triangular quantum billiards that follow from the
tiling self-similarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
12.1.11 Center of mass of a filled “golden b” shape, through
self-similar tilings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
12.2 Problems without provided solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
12.2.1 Power-index method applied to the Pöschl-Teller
problem directly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
12.2.2 Quasi-integrability: the overall idea and the
example of the sixtic oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . 186
12.2.3 A quasi-integrable instance of two nonlinearly
coupled oscillators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
12.2.4 Moment of inertia of a filled “golden b” shape,
through the self-similar tilings . . . . . . . . . . . 188
12.3 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
12.3.1 Quasi-integrability: the overall idea and the
example of the sixtic oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . 188
12.3.2 Relationship between various methods . . . . . . . 190
12.3.3 Further reading: Bethe ansatz . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Further Reading 195

General Index 197
Author Index 201
 Some notations

[a] Units in which an observable a is measured

[L], [T ], [M], [E], . . . Units of length, time, mass, energy, . . .
L, T , M, E, . . . Length scale, time scale , mass scale , energy scale, . . .
P1 , P2 , . . . Independent dimensionless parameters of a given problem
A[ψ(·)] A functional A acting on a wavefunction ψ(x)
V A variational space V
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 KERATOGLOBUS.

This is a variety of ectasia in which the clear, pellucid, protruding

cornea is more globular and less conical in outline. It is seen
especially with enlargement of the entire eyeball (buphthalmus).
 TUMORS OF THE CORNEA.

Various tumors may grow from the cornea. Dermoid cysts may
implicate the cornea and demand excision. Malignant growths
demand extirpation of the eyeball.
 WOUNDS OF THE SCLERA.

Covered as it is by the bones of the orbit, and by the palpebræ the

sclera is little liable to traumatic lesions. Wounds with swords,
needles, nails, splinters of wood, and other sharp pointed bodies are
not unknown, however, and penetration by shot is especially
common in setters. Rupture from blows of clubs, beams, poles,
stumps, etc., are also met with.
The symptoms are profuse lachrymation with more or less of
blood, and when the eyelids are separated the wound may be
discovered and its gravity estimated by protrusion of the vitreous.
Slight injuries which are not infected heal readily under the
treatment recommended for keratitis. Infecting and penetrating
wounds are liable to cause panophthalmitis and destruction of the
eye. Foreign bodies, if present, should be removed when possible.
Pyoktannin is especially recommended by Stilling.
EPISCLERITIS. INFLAMMATION OF THE SCLERA.

Scleritis in man is described as a manifestation of rheumatism,

gout, or tuberculosis. It occurs in animals in connection with
traumatic lesions, with iritis, cyclitis and choroiditis and is
manifested by more or less congestion, swelling and tenderness of
the sclerotic, but is always subordinate in importance and the
treatment demanded is for the more serious disease.
 ECTASIA (BULGING) OF THE SCLERA.

Cases of this kind are adduced by Schleich and Mayer, in dogs, in

which there was a corresponding bulging or even an absence
(coloboma) of the choroid and retina. With a large protrusion of the
sclera behind, there was a shrinkage of the front of the globe
(microphthalmos), so that an atrophy might be suspected. The
condition is irremediable.
 PROLAPSE OF THE IRIS.

This has been already referred to as a complication of perforating

ulcer or wound of the cornea. If it cannot be returned and
maintained by a compression bandage and eserin, the only resort is
to draw out the prolapsing portion and cut it off with scissors, the eye
and instruments having been rendered thoroughly aseptic.
 INTERNAL OPHTHALMIA.

Diagnosis of internal ophthalmias difficult. Causes: as in conjunctivitis,

extension of conjunctivitis or keratitis to iris, choroid, ciliary circle, retina;
Lymphatic constitution, damp soil, air and stable, pit life, dentition, grain feeding,
training. Symptoms: ophthalmic symptoms generally, enlarged ciliary vessels in
sclera not movable; white zone around corneal margin; iris dull, brownish,
sluggish; intraocular tension increased: flocculi in aqueous humor: photophobia:
oblique focal illumination: sudden change from darkness to light: synechia:
ophthalmoscope. Cyclitis. Diagnosis: from keratitis, recurrent ophthalmia.
Lesions: according to chief seat of the disease: inflammation of Descemet’s
membrane, iris, choroid, ciliary circle, lens, vitreous and retina in variable degree.
Opacity of aqueous, lens, capsules, or vitreous. Prognosis: always grave, often
vision impaired or lost. Treatment: rest, pure air, apart from strong sunshine,
removal of causes, local bleeding or cupping, derivation, purgative, cooling
diuretics: locally astringent antiseptic lotions, cocaine, homatropine, blister, undue
tension antiseptic puncture, mercury oxide ointment; in rheumatic cases salicin or
sodium salicylate.

In the domestic animals it is not always possible to distinguish

between inflammations affecting different portions of the inner and
middle coats of the eye (iritis, cyclitis, choroiditis, retinitis), so that it
is convenient to give in general terms the phenomena and treatment
of the class known as ophthalmia internus. This is all the more
appropriate that inflammation of one of these divisions so frequently
extends to the others producing panophthalmitis, that the disease in
one usually implies an early implication of all.
Causes. Many of the causes of conjunctivitis, when acting with
special intensity, or for too long a time, may cause internal
ophthalmia. Severe blows, bruises, punctures, lacerations, sand,
cinders, dust, lime, foreign bodies inducing traumas, sudden
transitions from darkness to bright sunshine, habitual exposure to
sunshine or to the reflection from snow, ice or water, through a
window in front of the stall, the abuse of the overdraw check rein, the
glare of electric light or of lightning flashes, draughts of cold damp
air between windows or doors, the beating of cold storms on the eyes
and skin, a sudden chill from plunging in water or standing in a cold
draught when perspiring, blows with branches, pine cones or needles
in the eye, the constant irritation from entropion, trichiases,
burdocks or thistles in the forelock, irritant gases, etc., are among the
factors which coöperate in setting up the disease. Again diseases of
the digestive organs, rheumatism, influenza, canine distemper,
brust-seuche, petechial fever, variola, eczema, and aphthous fever
may be direct causes. Conjunctivitis and keratitis are liable to merge
into irido-choroiditis by extension, and above all when owing to
perforation of the cornea a direct channel is opened for the easy
entrance of infective, pathogenic microbes. A lymphatic constitution,
connected with low breeding, or living in a low, damp, cloudy region,
or in dark, damp, impure stables, has a strongly predisposing
influence. The period of dentition, connected as it usually is with
domestication, stabling, grain feeding, and training is often a potent
accessory cause.
Symptoms. With the general phenomena of superficial or external
ophthalmia there are some indications which may be called
pathognomonic. These may be summarized as follows: in eyes devoid
of pigment the enlarged ciliary vessels run deeply and are not
tortuous, nor mobile when rubbed; the scleral redness increases
toward the margin of the cornea, but leaves a white zone in front of
the penetration of the ciliary vessels; the iris has lost its clear
reflection, appearing dull or brownish; the pupil is contracted and
sluggish in response to light and darkness, it may be fixed or may
show marked unevenness in its margin: the tension of the eye ball is
often increased, flocculi of lymph may be seen in the aqueous humor
settling into the lower part of the anterior chamber. This deposit
may be white or yellowish or it may even be reddened by
extravasated blood especially in traumatic injuries. In traumas, too,
the cornea and even the aqueous or vitreous humor may be opaque.
In cases resulting from exposure to cold or from internal causes, the
media of the eye are at first clear and transparent. The condition of
the interior of the eye is usually to be learned by examining the
patient as he stands facing the light from a dark back ground. A
stable door or window will afford the requisite amount of rays falling
from above and from each side upon the interior of the eye. The
observer looks indirectly or obliquely and under favorable conditions
can see the iris and through the pupil. If the pupil is unduly closed it
may often be dilated by instilling a few drops of a 5 per cent. solution
of atropia and waiting for fifteen or twenty minutes.
The examination is made more satisfactorily with a candle or other
single source of light in a dark chamber. If this light is surrounded by
a chimney opaque except at one side which is directed toward the
eye, the results are much more satisfactory. Focal illumination with a
biconvex lens, or oblique illumination will show a swollen condition
of the iris with uneven bulging swellings at different points, and
generally a lack of the clear dark surface which marks the healthy
iris. It may be yellowish or brownish, rather than dark, or blue, or
yellow, but is always duller than normal. The pupil may be
contracted or dilated, but is always uneven at the margin according
to the degree of congestion of the different portions. It may be quite
immovable under the stimulus of light and darkness, and is always
sluggish as compared with the healthy condition. To test this reflex
action, the one eye may be bandaged, and the other eye covered with
the palm of the hand for one or two minutes. When exposed the
pupil will be found to be widely dilated, and in the healthy eye it will
rapidly contract and dilate alternately until it has reached a condition
of adaptation to the intensity of the light when it will remain
immovable. With the inflamed iris these contractions and dilatations
will be lacking altogether, or they will be sluggish and imperfect in
various degrees according to the intensity of the inflammation, the
degree of congestion or the tension of the liquid media of the eye.
Restricted movement may also be due to adhesion to the cornea,
(synechia anterior) or to the capsule of the lens (synechia
posterior).
When viewed with the ophthalmoscope properly focused the
choroid may show a lack of its normal lustre and an unevenness due
to the formation of small rounded elevations in connection with
congestion, or exudation, and patches of yellowish red or whitish
discoloration together with lines of the same color following the
course of the blood-vessels. It may also reveal dark spots of opacity
in the lens (cataract) or clouds in the anterior region of the vitreous,
the result of exudations. The blood-vessels may appear enlarged and
tortuous.
In some cases the exudate may form a false membrane which
completely closes the pupil.
A special tenderness around the margin of the cornea is suggestive
of cyclitis. Internal ophthalmia is usually accompanied by a variable
amount of fever.
Diagnosis. From simple keratitis, it is distinguished by the
thickening, discoloration and sluggishness of the iris, by the absence,
in many cases, of corneal opacity, and of free lachrymation, and in
some instances by increased tension of the eyeball.
Recurring ophthalmia, which is usually also an internal
inflammation, appears more abruptly and often at first with greater
severity, and accompanied by more hyperthermia. There is almost
always a bluish white opacity around the margin of the cornea, the
eye is retracted in its sheath so as to appear smaller, and the upper
lid usually shows a marked angle between its inner and middle thirds
in place of the evenly curved arch of the healthy palpebra. It usually
appears for the first time in the young and in those that have
inherited the susceptibility and have been kept on damp soils, in
cloudy districts, or dark buildings.
Lesions. These are necessarily varied according as the
inflammation is concentrated on particular parts of the interior of
the eye. The secreting membrane of the aqueous humor is nearly
always inflamed giving rise to an exudate and a milky opacity of the
aqueous humor. The iris is the seat of congestion exudation,
thickening, cell proliferation and investment by false membranes.
The capsule of the lens is early clouded, may be covered by exudate
and is rendered vascular in some cases. The choroid is also the seat
of congestion, exudation and discoloration with the covering up at
points of its pigmentary layer. The vitreous and lens finally become
the seat of exudation and opacity which is liable to prove permanent.
Prognosis. The internal ophthalmias are always to be dreaded. In
other organs exudates may take place and become organized as
permanent structures without abolishing the function or rendering
the organ physiologically useless, but in the delicate and transparent
tissues of the eye, any such permanent product almost infallibly
causes opacity and loss, or serious impairment of vision. In the retina
the displacement, derangement, or covering up of the cones and rods
necessarily interferes with or abolishes sight, the opacity of the
cornea, lens, capsule, or vitreous interrupts the rays of light, and the
destruction, or coating over of the pigment of the choroid leads to
undue reflection and destroys vision. Beside this the destruction or
impairment of one part of the eye, changes the refraction and blurs
the vision, or interferes with accommodation and destroys the utility
of the organ. Unless therefore the disease can be cut short in its early
stages and a complete resolution effected it is likely to leave the
patient very much deteriorated in value. Fortunately it is only in the
most violent cases or in very susceptible animals that the disease in
the one eye is transmitted to the other by sympathy and leads to
destruction of that eye as well.
In the treatment of internal ophthalmia, rest in pure air and
moderate warmth, away from a fierce glare of light is imperative. The
causes should as far as possible be removed. Next, it is desirable to
establish derivation. Leblanc and Trasbot attach great importance to
phlebotomy from the jugular on the same side. A more direct local
action with less loss of blood may be obtained from opening the
angular vein of the eye or applying a leech beneath the lower lid. In
most cases a sufficient derivative action can be secured by an active
purgative which may be followed by daily doses of cooling diuretics.
Locally astringent lotions (lead acetate or zinc sulphate 1 dr. to 1 qt.
water; mercuric chloride, 1 ∶ 5000; boric acid, 2 ∶ 100; pyoktannin, 1 ∶
1000) in combination with cocaine hydrochlorate, homatropin,
atropia sulphate, duboisia or hyoscyamin (1 ∶ 1000) would be
appropriate. These may be applied over the eye on a soft cloth, and in
cases of infective inflammation the more antiseptic agents may be
injected under the lids. When the inflammation is very severe the
atropia or other sedative agent may be made of the strength of 1 ∶ 100
and a drop or two placed inside the lids with a dropper every two or
three hours.
A blister of biniodide of mercury may be applied to a space the size
of a dollar above the anterior end of the zygomatic ridge, or in dogs
back of the ear on the side of the neck: or a seton may be passed
through the skin in the same situation.
 When the eyeball is unduly tense, puncture through the margin of
the cornea with a fine aseptic lancet will relieve the tension and in
some cases induce a more healthy action. Assiduous antisepsis is
needful until the wound has healed.
In other cases benefit can be obtained from the use of an ointment
of yellow oxide of mercury 1 part, in vaseline 10 parts, or of iodoform
of the same strength. A small portion the size of a grain of wheat is
put under the lid, and the latter manipulated with the finger to bring
it in contact with all parts of the surface. In case of a rheumatic
origin salicin and salicylate of soda are demanded.
 SIMPLE IRITIS.

Causes. Symptoms: redness of sclera, in dogs, cats, birds, pigs, with a narrow
zone of white next the cornea, red scleral vessels immovable, iris dull gray or
brown, uneven, sluggish in response to light, synechia anterior or posterior, lens
and capsule clouded or clear, pupillary margin uneven, myosis or midriasis, black
cataract. Treatment: rest, dark stall or covering, head elevated, midriatics, cocaine,
antiseptic puncture, purgation, leeches, seton, cooling astringent lotions, diuretics,
for tension in convalescence iridectomy. In traumatic cases careful antisepsis.

This may come from any one or more of the causes of internal
ophthalmia above named. The inflammation, however, concentrates
itself on the iris so as to overshadow the disease in the adjacent
organs.
The more distinctive symptoms are the redness of the sclerotic in
unpigmented organs (swine, birds, dogs, cats), the redness
increasing as it approaches the margin of the cornea but leaving a
narrow white zone surrounding the edge. The red vessels on the
sclerotic are not moved with the conjunctiva when the lid is moved
over the front of the eye. The front of the iris is dull, grayish or
brownish, it is thickened unevenly and very sluggish in response to
light and darkness. Not infrequently it is adherent to the back of the
cornea (synechia anterior) or to the front of the lenticular capsule
(synechia posterior). The lens and its capsule may or may not be
clouded, but if the interior of the vitreous can be seen it is found to
be clear. The pupil is more or less uneven in outline and sometimes it
is torn at its inner edge so as to form shreds and projecting tongues.
Myosis (contraction of the pupil) or midriasis (dilatation) may be
present. If the latter has been preceded by adhesion a portion of the
uvea may remain attached to the lenticular capsule constituting
black cataract. The lens or its capsule may become opaque, and a
fibrinous membrane may form over the pupil.
 Treatment. Rest for body and eye are essential. A dark stall, or a
thick covering for the eye is desirable. The head should be kept
moderately elevated to facilitate the return of blood. The pupil
should be kept widely dilated to prevent adhesions to the lens.
Sulphate of atropia 5 grs. to the oz. of water should be applied a few
drops at a time, thrice a day, or as often as may be necessary to
secure dilatation. In case the atropia fails to secure dilatation a 5 per
cent. solution of cocaine should be dropped into the eye every three
or four minutes for four or five times and then another application of
atropia may be tried warm. Should it still fail and should there be
indications of extra congestion and swelling of the iris or of excessive
tension of the eyeball, relief may be obtained by puncturing the
cornea. With the reduction of the tension the iris will often respond
to the midriatic. Benefit may also be obtained from an active
purgative, or the application of leeches in the vicinity of the eye.
Cooling astringent applications may be kept up over the eye, or
warm antiseptic applications will often give great relief.
In obstinate cases the yellow oxide of mercury ointment may be
applied as advised for internal ophthalmia.
Cooling diuretics may also be of essential advantage.
If, after a fair recovery the bulb remains unduly tense, iridectomy
may be resorted to as a prophylactic measure for the future. An
incision is made with a lancet close in front of the margin of the
cornea, and the iris seized and withdrawn with a pair of fine forceps,
and a portion snipped off with fine scissors. The eye and instruments
must be rendered absolutely aseptic by carbolic acid and boiling
water, and the antisepsis of the eye must be carefully maintained
until the wound is healed. This tends to relieve congestion in the iris
and to moderate the secretion in the anterior chamber, so that the
former extreme tension does not recur. In making choice of the seat
of the iridectomy a selection may be made which will do away with
adhesions, or one that will expose a portion of the lens which is still
transparent, and which may restore vision when obscured by a
cataract.
In traumatic cases there should be extra care in maintaining a
thorough antisepsis of the eye as the great danger is that of infective
panophthalmitis. The injection of antiseptic liquids under the
eyelids, and the covering of the eye with antiseptic cotton wool or
with a soft rag wet with an antiseptic lotion are important factors in
treatment.
 SYMPTOMATIC OR METASTATIC IRITIS.

Complications of infectious diseases, influenza, contagious pneumonia,

strangles, tuberculosis, omphalitis. Symptoms: exudation of fibrine and blood,
with those of simple iritis. Treatment: as in iritis, plus measures for the specific
primary disease. When second eye is threatened enucleation.

Under this head Möller describes those forms of iritis which occur
as complications of various infectious diseases. It has long been
observed that iritis and other ophthalmias, occurred as
complications of the acute infectious diseases of the respiratory
organs of the horse formerly known under the general name of
“influenza.” More recently many veterinarians and others have
classed these influenza iritis separately under the name of “pinkeye.”
The same can be said of “contagious pneumonia” (brustsenche) of
horses which is distinctly caused by the diplococcus (streptococcus)
pneumoniæ equina. Attention was called to the iritic complication of
this disease in 1881 by Siedamgrotzky and it has been often noticed
since. Conjunctivitis is however a more frequent complication of this
disease than iritis. In both influenza and contagious pneumonia the
iritis often supervenes when convalescence has apparently set in.
Strangles is another affection in which the iris occasionally suffers.
Mathieu has described tuberculosis of the iris in cattle, and Möller
mentions with some hesitancy cases of iritis which complicated the
infection of the navel in new born animals.
The symptoms of symptomatic iritis vary according to the
particular infection. In addition to the fibrinous exudate the
infections of the respiratory organs are liable to be complicated by
blood extravasations. In influenza this may show as deep blotches on
the bulbar conjunctiva and in chemosis. In contagious pneumonia
Schütz met with iritis of a distinctly hæmorrhagic character.
 In Matthieu’s cases of tubercle of the iris there was first a slight
lachrymation, and soon the iris assumed a grayish tint, and became
uneven and unduly approximated to the cornea though it failed to
become adherent to it. The swellings of the iris increased and became
of a grayish yellow color, and the pupil was usually contracted and
varied little in size. Post mortem examination showed the presence
of tubercles. The same condition has become familiar in connection
with experimental inoculation in the eye. As in ordinary iritis
adhesion to the capsule of the lens and cataract are common results.
Apart from the treatment of the specific primary disease this type
of iritis demands the same treatment as other forms. Strong atropia
lotions to prevent or break up adhesions and antiseptic astringents
are especially indicated. When implication of the second eye is
threatened it may be desirable to remove the first by enucleation.
(See Panophthalmitis).
 FOREIGN BODIES IN THE IRIS.

These are sometimes fine shot particularly in dogs, and splinters of

iron and steel in other animals. Their presence can sometimes be
made out by careful focal illumination. If septic they cause violent
iritis and panophthalmia. If aseptic they may sometimes cause little
trouble. If they can be exactly located, they should be removed at
once before the aqueous humor and cornea become clouded. If the
offending body is a piece of iron or steel and can be reached by a
magnet introduced through the original wound or through one made
with a lancet in the edge of the cornea it may be extracted by this
means. If it is shot or other body that is not attracted by a magnet the
portion of the iris in which it is entangled may be drawn out with
forceps and snipped off with fine scissors. Due antiseptic precaution
must be exercised.
COLOBOMA IRIDIS. CONGENITAL APERTURE IN
IRIS.

This is a congenital defect in which there is an aperture in the iris.

Hering figures the two eyes of a horse in which these appeared in the
direction of the outer canthus. Renner records a case in a foal in
connection with intra-bulbar enchondroma. Dochtermann and
Berlin record that among 64 pigs the result of breeding a boar on his
daughters and grand-daughters no less than 36 showed coloboma.
Möller figures a dog with the same affection.
The condition is not known to prove hurtful to the affected animal
so that it may be wisely let alone.
 DOUBLE PUPIL.

Mayer notes a case of congenital double pupil in the horse, a

bridge extending across the space from the upper to the lower border
and cutting off the outer third of the opening. The present writer has
seen a similar condition as the result of union of the corpus nigrum
in severe iritis. Section of the bridge is possible, though rarely
desirable, seeing that it opens a door to possible infection.