HISTORY OF THE 
DROF-BOTTLE. 
- BY- 
L. WEBSTER FOX, M.D., 
Professor of Ophthalmology, Medico-Chirurgical College, 
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
Reprint from the Ophthalmic Record, May, 1894. 
NASHVILLE, TENN. 
A. R. Gray & Son, Book and Job Printers. 
1894. HISTORY OF THE DROP-BOTTLE* 
By L. WEBSTER FOX, M.D., 
Professor of Ophthalmology, Medico-Chirurgical College, 
Philadelphia, Pa. 
Gentlemen : 
It is rather a curious fact that some of the most useful articles 
used in the many fields of trade, commerce and every-day life, 
have lost their origin in "the mists of antiquity;" and so it is 
in many respects the same with articles used by the physician 
in his every-day practice. 
The Drop-Bottle may be cited as an example : who the inven- 
tor of this bottle was, is not known; but suffice it to say that 
very little or no improvement has been made over the Bottle in 
use at Moorfield's Eye Hospital in London, fifteen years ago. 
In the last two or three years, quite a number of Bottles have 
been introduced, each claiming more or less advantage over its 
neighbor,-the inventor always claiming among other things, 
originality, antiseptic qualities, and convenience. 
As to originality, the latest placed upon the market are faith- 
ful copies of the English models-simply because one is made 
of white glass and another of blue, or one has a longer neck or 
a larger bulb, does not take away the fact that the last ones are 
not original. As to their antiseptic properties, this of course 
is a misnomer. Fluids in such bottles are no more kept free 
from aspergillus than those which do not claim such qualities. 
This has been demonstrated in a most careful and thorough 
manner by Dr. deSchweinitz, of this city. 
As a convenience, the Drop-Bottle plays a very important role 
in the armamentaria of the ophthalmic surgeon. In fact, we 
should be at a great loss without it. The only question now 
* Extract from a Clinical Lecture delivered at the Medico-Chirurgical 
College, Philadelphia, Pa. 4 
History of the Drop-Bottle. 
before us is, which is the most useful and practical kind, and 
where are they to be obtained ? 
The Drop-Bottle in use at Moorfield's Eye Hospital for the 
past fifteen years, is represented in Fig. 1. It is a small, bulbous 
shaped vial, rather wide at the mouth, and through 
the cork a small glass tube is inserted. The bottle 
is taken in the hand, turned upside down, and the 
heat from the palm, expanding the air within the 
cavity of tne bottle, causes one, two, or three drops 
to be forced into the eye of the patient. Who the 
inventor of this bottle was, I have been unable to 
ascertain, but it is supposed to have been invented by a man by 
the name of Clark. They are made of a uniform size, contain- 
ing about three drams of the liquid. 
No. 2 is a French model--very small-and differs from 
the English model in the fact that the glass pipette ex- 
tends from a rubber cap which first sucks, by compression, 
the fluid into the pipette, whence it is afterwards dropped 
into the eye. They are made of various sizes, the one 
shown in the diagram being taken from a small pocket-case 
suggested by Galezowski. For practical, every-day service, 
this is not to be commended ; it is simply used in a pocket-case. 
No. 3, an ordinary ounce bottle, round, white 
glass, with a pipette ground into the neck as a stop- 
per. The head is cup-shaped, over which is tied a 
piece of rubber cloth. The objection to this bottle 
is, that in a very short time the elastic becomes 
rotten, and breaks under pressure of the finger. It 
is not without much difficulty that this cloth is re- 
placed. I brought this bottle with me from England 
some years ago. 
rig. 1. 
Fig. 2. 
Kig. 3. L. Webster Fox, M.D. 
5 
No. 4 is after a model recently made by Whit- 
all, Tatum & Co. This consists of an ordinary 
bottle in which is inserted a glass stopper, which 
takes the place of a pipette. The head of this 
stopper is expanded, over which is fastened a piece 
of india-rubber covering or cap. By pressing this 
diaphragm, or cap, the air is expelled from the 
upper air-chamber, and by releasing the finger the 
fluid is sucked into the vacant space. This model, 
as will be seen, resembles the English bottle. 
No. 5 is by Dr. McNaughton Jones : a bottle 
shaped very much after the Moorfield's, with a 
vulcanite stopper; passing through the center of 
the stopper a pipette with a hard rubber cap 
covering it. This is supposed to keep the fluid 
in the bottle free from aspergillus ;-it does not 
do so, however. 
This is an English model of practically 
no importance, as the stopper consists of a 
solid piece of glass, drawn to a point. The 
stopper is wide enough to fill the mouth of the 
bottle, passing down through it to the bottom. 
The fluid which adheres to the side of the 
stopper when lifted up, forms at the apex of 
the cone in a single drop. This is of more 
value in the denser fluids like boro-glyceride, 
etc , etc. 
I have now in my possession one or two 
other models, but they are so nearly like the 
several described above, that it would not be fair to call atten- 
Fig. 4. 
* ig. 5. 
Fig. 6. 6 
History of the Drop-Bottle. 
tion to them. Several ophthalmic cases have recently been put 
upon the market, with models very like those adopted by the 
English. They have their practical value. One of the most re- 
cent of drop-bottles was introduced by Dr. Stroschein, of Wiirtz- 
burg, and possesses advantages over those in common use. 
No. 7 represents the bottle ready for use. 
The flask is constructed of thin glass so as to 
bear heat without breaking. The pipette fits 
into the flask, and differs from those comnm- 
ly employed in that it has two bulbs, (0 1 and 
C 2), instead of one. The pipette, which is of 
course traversed by a central channel, is sur- 
mounted by an india-rubber nipple. These 
flasks were the first on the market in which 
fluids could be sterilized, and this is done by 
heating the fluid over a gas-burner or an 
alcohol lamp for three minutes. The flask may be held by a 
wooden clip, or it may be supported by a wire gauze on a tripod. 
As soon as the boiling point is reached, the steam rises from 
the liquid and passes through the pipette, which is thus effect- 
ually sterilized. In about half a minute from the removal of 
the bottle from the flame, the pipette is inserted in its original 
position. The fluid may be thoroughly cooled by dropping the 
flask into cold water, after putting on the rubber teat; and the 
bottle is ready for use. 
Dr. Stroschein adds eight to ten drops of distilled water to 
every half dram of the liquid before it is boiled This is done 
to make up for the waste produced by boiling. I brought a set 
of these bottles (four) with me from Europe last September, 
since which time I have been using them in my operations ; and 
as a result, in thirty-five cataract operations, five operations for 
glaucoma, and several iridectomies, I have not met with a single 
loss of the eye-ball, nor any untoward symptoms. 
Fig. 7. L. Webster Fox, M.D. 
7 
That this process described secures absolute sterilization of 
bottle, contents, and pipette, is confirmed by Dr. Stroschein, who 
made more than one hundred bacteriological experiments. For 
any ophthalmic surgeon who wishes to have a bottle in which he 
can use a sterilized fluid, I can amply attest to the value of this 
last one. The few described above, have value (which goes 
withaut saying) in using the ordinary fluids applied to the eye; 
but for a bottle in which to properly sterilize fluids, and a con- 
venient way of handling them, I know of none which carry out 
this method better than those introduced by Dr. Stroschein. The 
name of the contained solution is indelibly inscribed upon the 
face of each flask at the time of making the bottle. Various 
colors indicate the various solutions contained. Thus: the 
bottle for atropine is black ; that for cocaine, white ; for eserine, 
red ; and for homatropine, blue. 
No. 8 is a flask lately devised by 
Llewellyn, pharmacist of Phi'adelphia, and 
is very useful where accuracy is required 
in dropping. The heat of the hand'causes 
one drop to follow another very slowly ; in 
addition the rubber bulb may be compress- 
ed to cause a larger stream to flow when 
necessary. These flasks come in sets, also 
having names of various drugs such as are used in ophthalmic 
practice, blown in the bottle. 
As'these flasks are less complicated than the Stroschein bottle, 
I am at present experimenting with them in sterilizing the con- 
tained fluid used in cataract operations. With the Stroschein 
bottle it is necessary to reverse the pipette after the boiling of 
the fluid, and replace the rubber nipple. Unless this is done 
with sterilized fingers, one runs some risk in provoking just 
what he is trying to prevent-infecting the point of the pipette- 
In the Llewellyn flask it is obvious that all of these dangers 
are minimized. The boiling of the fluid is done precisely as 
with the Stroschein bottle. 
1304 Walnut St. 
Fig. 8.