Definition
The loss of peripheral vision consists of a defect in perceiving the external portion of the visual field, in one or both eyes, while the central vision remains unchanged.
The narrowing of the peripheral parts of the visual fields manifests itself with the difficulty in seeing the objects placed laterally or when the subject tends to stumble often on steps and low obstacles.
The narrowing of the visual field can be consequent to lesions that occur in any point of the visual pathways. The main causes include glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa, retinal detachment and age-related macular degeneration. Loss of peripheral vision can also result from neurological lesions following a stroke, aneurysm, tumor or trauma.
The visual field can also be compromised in cases of high myopia and toxic-metabolic disorders.
Possible Causes * Shrinkage of the visual field
- Brain aneurysm
- Giant cell arteritis
- Age-related macular degeneration
- Retinal detachment
- Glaucoma
- Stroke
- Cytomegalovirus infection (CMV)
- Cerebral ischemia
- Myopia
- Optic neuritis
- Infant Cerebral Palsy
- Retinitis pigmentosa
- Retinoblastoma
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Pituitary tumors
