Walsh & Hoyt: Inflammatory and Infectious Infiltrative Optic Neuropathies

The intraocular, intraorbital, intracanalicular, and intracranial segments of the optic nerve can all be infiltrated by inflammatory and infectious processes. The most common inflammatory process that produces an infiltrative optic neuropathy is sarcoidosis. The most common infectious processes that produce an infiltrative optic neuropathy are syphilis, tuberculosis, and opportunistic fungal infections, such as cryptococcosis. These conditions are all discussed in greater detail in other chapters in this text. Perioptic neuritis.