Amaurosis

Amaurosis (Gr. amauros, 'obscure') is the name applied to total blindness when no change can be seen in the eye sufficient to account for it. Amblyopia is used to denote partial loss of sight under similar circumstances. The meaning of these terms has become very much more limited since the invention of the Ophthalmoscope (q.v.), which has rendered visible, in the interior of the eye, the cause of loss of sight in many cases where it was previously unknown. They are still, however, unfortunately sometimes used to denote loss of sight from atrophy of the optic nerve (see EYE, Vol. IV., p. 513). Amaurosis—for which an old term was Gutta serena—and amblyopia may occur in the course of various diseases, especially disease of the brain, Bright's disease, diabetes, hysteria; may result from a blow on the eye; or may be present, usually only in one eye, from early life (congenital amblyopia). Amblyopia, much more rarely amaurosis, may be produced by large doses of quinine, or by the prolonged and excessive use of alcohol, opium, and other drugs, but far most commonly of tobacco (toxic amblyopia). The treatment of these conditions is the removal of their cause, when ascertainable. In toxic amblyopia, abstinence from the drug which produced the disease almost always results in cure, unless the case be of long standing and great severity.