Walsh and Hoyt's Clinical Neuro-Ophthalmology

Topical Diagnosis of Acquired Optic Nerve Disorders

Distinguishing an optic neuropathy from retinal disease.

"Severe optic neuropathies associated with syndromes and producing profound losses of optic nerve functions may be obvious. However, mild optic neuropathies may only produce subtle impairments of visual function and be difficult to diagnose. When the optic discs appear normal and the visual field defects do not have a classical pattern, distinguishing such a mild optic neuropathy from retinal disease may be difficult."