Walsh & Hoyt: Topical Diagnosis of Retrochiasmal Visual Field Defects

With few exceptions, unilateral lesions of the visual sensory pathway posterior to the optic chiasmaffecting the optic tract, lateral geniculate body, optic radiation, or striate cortexproduce homonymous visual field defects without loss of visual acuity. When such defects are complete, they do not, in themselves, permit localization. In such instances, the clinician must rely on other symptoms and signs of neurologic disease or on neuroimaging to define both the area of damage and the etiology of the lesion. Nevertheless, some general comments about retrochiasmal field defects are worth noting before launching into a comprehensive discussion of the clinical syndromes associated with specific regions of the retrochiasmal visual sensory system.