Petras Avižonis – pirmosios lietuviškos oftalmologijos studijos autorius ir lietuviškų medicinos terminų kūrėjas
LT2019 m. spalio 17-ąją minime žymaus Lietuvos prieškario gydytojo profesoriaus Petro Avižonio 80-ąsias mirties metines. Profesorius dažniausiai prisimenamas kaip vienas žymiausių to meto Lietuvos ir Europos oftalmologų, Lietuvos aklųjų draugijos įkūrėjas, Lietuvos medicinos draugijos atkūrimo organizatorius bei Lietuvos universiteto Akių ligų klinikos sumanytojas ir steigėjas, klinikai vadovavęs iki gyvenimo pabaigos. Taip pat prieš 80 metų buvo parašytas vertingiausias P. Avižonio veikalas – „Akių ligų vadovas“ (Kaunas, 1940, 845 p.), išleistas jau po autoriaus mirties, 1940 metais. Tai pirmoji ir daugiau nei pusę amžiaus (iki 1992 m.) buvusi vienintelė lietuviškai parašyta oftalmologijos studija, kuri ir šiandien reikšminga medicinos ir lietuvių kalbos mokslams.
ENEach period has given the Lithuanian nation personalities whose works have been referred to for centuries. One of them is Petras Avižonis (1875– 1939). October 17, 2019 marked the 80th anniversary of his death. The professor is most often remembered as one of the most prominent Lithuanian and European ophthalmologists of that time, the founder of the Lithuanian Society of the Blind, the organizer of the restoration of the Lithuanian Medical Society and the creator and founder of the Lithuanian Eye Clinic at the University. Avižonis was one of the organizers of Kaunas Higher Education Medical Department, and after the establishment of the University of Lithuania in 1922 he became the first Dean of the Faculty of Medicine (1922–1923 academic year). During the academic year 1924–1925, Avižonis became Vice-Rector of the University, and in 1925–1926 he was elected Rector of the University. Petras Avižonis made a major contribution not only to medicine but also to the Lithuanian language. A lot of medical terms are in Avižonis’ articles, but his "Handbook of Eye Diseases" can be considered a treasure trove of Lithuanian medical terms. It was the first and for more than half a century (until 1992) the only ophthalmic study written in Lithuanian.
