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ALEXANDER GERBER, M.D.; ROBERT K. LAMBERT, M.D.

Arch Ophthal. 1936;16(3):443-446.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

In the course of routine examinations of the fundi three patients were noted whose fundi presented an unusual appearance. All three patients had taken methylthionine chloride U. S. P. (methylene blue) over a long period, and their fundi appeared deep blue, as though seen through a blue filter. To our knowledge such a condition has not been recorded previously. We are therefore reporting these unusual cases, giving a foreword concerning methylthionine chloride.

Methylthionine chloride was isolated chemically for the first time in 1876 by Caro. It is a tetra-methylthionine chloride, the formula being C₁₆H₁₈N₃SCl + 3H₂O. It is dark bluish green with a metallic luster and is odorless and relatively stable. Alcohol and water dissolve the crystals readily. As early as 1880 this dye was used as an intestinal antiseptic to destroy lower forms of plant and animal life. Soon it was shown . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
NEW YORK

From the Ophthalmological Service of the Montefiore Hospital.

Footnotes
Read before the Section of Ophthalmology, the New York Academy of Medicine, Feb. 17, 1936.