[Disorders of function in pitting of the optic disk]

Using 44 eyes with optic disk pits as reference material, these pits are described with particular attention to the functional disturbances which accompany them. Visual acuity is reduced in about 50% of eyes thus affected. In two-thirds of the cases the deterioration in visual acuity occurs suddenly and without warning, prompting the patient to see an ophthalmologist. The cause of the sudden disturbance of vision is the formation of subretinal fluid, which presumably originates in the vitreous and then passes through the pit into the subretinal space. In the present study it was demonstrated that pits in the optic disk are also accompanied by a defect in the nerve fiber layer. Under meticulous examination these scotomas can be identified both in static perimetry by their steep scotoma rims and ophthalmoscopically by the absence of the nerve fiber layer and of subretinal fluid. The nerve fiber defects often cause only small scotomas which go unnoticed by the patient. In some cases, when they affect the center, they can also result in reduced visual acuity and strabismus.