[Clinical aspects and pathology of traumatic lesions of the optic nerve]

The cause of the unilateral complete blindness (amaurosis traumatica) occurring in the case of closed cranial injury has been sought for in the optic nerve canal (canalis opticus syndrome). For the decompression of the optic nerve surgical approach has been performed in several institutes and by various neurosurgeons. These interventions lead to no result, irrespective of the time of the operation or the surgical technique. On the basis of the data of the literature and their material the authors came to the conclusion that since the alteration of the optic nerve has been histologically observed not only in the area of the optic nerve, but also in the free intracranial and intraorbital sector, this was the cause of the failure. The authors' five cases are demonstrated with light and electron microscopic examinations.