Review of Diseases of the Optic Nerve,Optic Tract, and Visual Cortex

ABSTRACT The ophthalmic literature dealing with diseases of the optic nerve, the optic tracts, and the visual cortex was reviewed for the period November 1975 through November 1976. Twenty‐nine papers on topics of interest to optometrists were abstracted. The main areas of interest include: papilledema and optic atrophy (with ophthalmoscopic signs of both optic atrophy and papilledema); giant‐cell arteritis; papillitis; interesting malformations of the face, palate, and orbital position that occur in conjunction with microphthalmus, situs inversus, and hypoplasia and aplasia of the optic nerve; the proposed association of myopia with unusual eyebrows; myelinated nerve fibers at the nerve head; pigment anomalies; the continuing discussion of nerve‐head blood supply; an unexpected cause for nerve‐head neovascularization; the importance of the swinging‐flashlight test in the diagnosis of glaucoma; an unusual type of glaucomatous cupping; doubts about the peripapillary “halo” as a sign of glaucoma; new uses for old field tests; and new methods of ocular photography.