AMAUROSIS AND VISUAL HALLUCINATIONS

   In Greek, the noun amaurosis refers to a darkening or loss of vision. In present-day biomedicine, it is used to denote a type of visual loss that is not due to intraocular pathology. A congenital type of amaurosis is known as "Leber's congenital amaurosis. Transient types of amau-rosis are referred to as "amaurosis fugax. All types of amaurosis can theoretically be complicated by " visual hallucinations (as in the " Charles Bonnet syndrome, for example). Such visual hallucinations are sometimes referred to as " ophthalmopathic hallucinations.

   References

   Teunisse, R.J., Cruysberg, J.R., Hoefnagels, W.H., Verbeek, A.L., Zitman, F.G. (1996). Visual hallucinations in psychologically normal people: Charles Bonnet's syndrome. Lancet, 347, 794-797.