The Japanese Society of Comparative and Veterinary Ophthalmology, JSCVO, was established in the afternoon of March 23^rd, 1981, by Prof. K. SUGIURA and some veterinary researchers and clinicians.

On February 21^st, 1982, the official magazine of the JSCVO, “Animal Eye Research”, was published, and since then it has been published periodically and constantly. The magazine has been open to all overseas comparative ophthalmologists.

Now, we have two Overseas Editorial Advisors, Prof. K. N. GELATT for the New World and Oceanic countries, and Prof. B. CLERC for Eurasian (except East Asia) and African countries.

On July 29^th of 1988, the Japanese College of Veterinary and Comparative Ophthalmologists, JCVCO, was started. It conbines two sub-colleges, the Japanese College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists and the Japanese College of Comparative Ophthalmologists. The first is for veterinarians and the other is for non-veterinarian comparative ophthalmologists having a Ph. D degree.

The Society has a totally of three Honorary Members in the U.S. and a long-resident American professor in Japan. The College also has nine Overseas Honorary Diplomates in North America and the EU.

The object of the research or clinical work of the JSCVO and JCVCO is not only the eye troubles of companion animals, but the overall ocular conditions of vertebrates in general, i.e. Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fishes^{17, 18, 27, 28)}.

This paper describes the history of both organizations, the JSCVO and JCVCO, from March 23^rd 1981 to July 14^th, 1999.

Cataract surgery in dogs has become highly successful in restoring vision, and is the most frequent intraocular surgery performed in the dog by veterinary ophthalmologists. Significant advances in canine cataract surgery have paralleled those in man and gradually evolved from the intracapsular cataract extraction (1950s), the extracapsular cataract procedure (1970s), to currently the phacoemulsification techniques. Cataract surgery in dogs differs from that in man because the canine lens is larger and the postoperative anterior uveitis more intense. By many comparisons, cataract surgery in children is quite similar to that in the dog. Modifications of cataract surgery have changed the preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative aspects and start with the selection of the patient, preoperative treatment and control of the lens-induced anterior uveitis, and routine evaluation by flash electroretinography (for generalized retinal degeneration) and ultrasonography (for vitreal degenerations and retinal detachments). The intraoperative advancements have been most significant and included the operating microscope, smaller and well designed surgical instruments, one-handed phacoemulsification units, prevention of fibrin formation and maintenance of mydriasis with intraocular heparin and epinephrine respectively, and smaller absorbable sutures. Canine intraocular lenses (IOLs) have been developed to provide emmetropia for dogs postoperatively. Postoperative advancements have concentrated on the medical control and resolution of the lens-in-duced uveitis. Challenges such as preventing capsular fibrosis, and successfully resolving postoperative aphakic glaucoma and retinal detachments remain. The success of cataract surgery varies by the time evaluated postoperatively but realistically appears to be about 90% within the first six months and then a slight decline to perhaps 80% in dogs with three year follow-ups.

The first series of the survey on canine ocular disorders was carried out during the period from mid-summer of 1996 to early summer of 1999.

The eyes of 262 dogs of 30 breeds were examined in the three main islands of Japan, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu.

The majority of dogs examined were newly acquired. The second series of the survey by JCVO-diplomate was started in September of 1999, supported by excellent general practitioners, serious breeders, and owners in various districts of the country.

Since mid-summer of 1996, this project has been carried out as a part of a worldwide survey on canine ocular disorders proposed by Prof. Peter G. C. Bedford at the World Veterinary Congress held in early autumn of 1995 in Yokohama, Japan, when he was President of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association.

Topical therapy are usually performed in treatment of eye diseases. However, it is difficult how we use the eyedrops effectively. This report describes that clinical signs play an important role to indicate useful and effective findings of topical administrations, as an example of topical therapy of cyclosporin. Cyclosporin was administered topically for the treatment of chronic keratoconjunctivitis sicca, superficial punctate keratitis, neurotrophic keratopathy, and chronic stromal keratitis.