Homonymous hemianopia

Q: Homonymous hemianopia is a visual field defect involving? - select one

A) right or the left half of one eye

B) two right or two left halves of both eyes

Answer: B

The terminology Homonymous hemianopia can be misleading, but if read properly - hemi followed by homo - in the name explains that it is a visual field defect involving either the two right or the two left halves of the visual fields of both eyes. It is due to lesions of the retrochiasmal visual pathways, i.e., lesions of the optic tract, the lateral geniculate nucleus, the optic radiations, and the cerebral visual (occipital) cortex.

#opthalmology

#neurology

References:

1. Levin LA. Topical diagnosis of chiasmal and retrochiasmal disorders. In: Walsh and Hoyt Clinical Neuro-ophthalmology, 6th ed, Miller NR, Newman NJ, Biousse V, Kerrison JB (Eds), Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore 2005. p.503.

2. Trobe JD. Visual fields. In: The Neurology of Vision, Trobe JD (Ed), Oxford, Oxford 2001. p.109.

3. Newman NJ, Galetta SL, Biousse V, et al. Disorder of vision. Continuum: Lifelong learning in Neurology. Neuroophthalmology 2003; 9:11.