Alfred Carl Graefe (23 November 1830 – 12 April 1899) was a German ophthalmologist born in Martinskirchen.
From 1850 to 1854 he studied medicine at the universities of Halle, Heidelberg, Würzburg, Leipzig and Prague,[1] then from 1855 to 1858, worked as an assistant to his cousin, ophthalmologist Albrecht von Graefe, in Berlin.
He was a pioneer of aseptic ophthalmic surgery involving efforts for prevention of surgical complications such as endophthalmitis.
Also, he is credited with providing an early detailed description of retinal ischemia, and was the first physician to perform an extirpation of the lacrimal sac.
[1] He collaborated with Edwin Theodor Saemisch in publishing an epic ophthalmological work titled "Handbuch des gesamten Augenheilkunde" (7 volumes, 1874–80).