Altitudinal field defects and retinal nerve fibre degeneration in optic nerve lesions

Altitudinal visual field defects in five cases with optic nerve lesions due to optic glioma, compression, and trauma are correlated to retinal nerve fibre degeneration, recorded with ophthalmoscopy and photography in red-free light. In one case the optic nerve was damaged at operation. Repeated fundus photography was used to record the evolution of descending optic atrophy. The results suggest that the findings in funduscopic examination of the retinal nerve fibre layer should be cautiously judged and the method cannot replace careful perimetry in cooperative patients.