Alfred Carl Graefe was a German ophthalmologist who was born in Martinskirchen. He studied medicine in Halle

Halle, Saxony-Anhalt

Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...

 and Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, and later became a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Halle. He was cousin to famed oculist Albrecht von Graefe.

Alfred Graefe was known for his work with ocular motility disorders, particularly strabismus

Strabismus

Strabismus is a condition in which the eyes are not properly aligned with each other. It typically involves a lack of coordination between the extraocular muscles, which prevents bringing the gaze of each eye to the same point in space and preventing proper binocular vision, which may adversely...

. He was a pioneer of aseptic ophthalmic surgery

Surgery

Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...

 in a mission to prevent surgical complications such as endophthalmitis

Endophthalmitis

Endophthalmitis is an inflammation of the internal coats of the eye. It is a dreaded complication of all intraocular surgeries, particularly cataract surgery, with possible loss of vision and the eye itself. Infectious etiology is the most common and various bacteria and fungi have been isolated as...

. Also, he assisted Edwin Theodor Saemisch

Edwin Theodor Saemisch

Edwin Theodor Saemisch was a German ophthalmologist who was born in Luckau. In 1858 he received his medical doctorate from the University of Berlin, and afterwards was an assistant to Albrecht von Graefe in Berlin, and Alexander Pagenstecher in Wiesbaden...

 in publishing the epic ophthalmological work titled Handbuch des gesamten Augenheilkunde.

Graefe was physician to composer Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...

 when the latter suffered from failing vision. A date for cataract

Cataract

A cataract is a clouding that develops in the crystalline lens of the eye or in its envelope, varying in degree from slight to complete opacity and obstructing the passage of light...

surgery was planned in September 1886, however Liszt died during the summer, and the surgery never took place.

Written works

• Klinische Analyse der Motilitätsstörungen des menschlichen Auges (Berlin 1858).
• Symptomenlehre der Augenmuskellähmungen (1867).
• Ein Wort zur Erinnerung an A. v. Graefe (Halle 1870).
• Handbuch der gesamten Augenheilkunde, (Leipzig 1874-80) (with Theodor Saemisch)