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Optic Atrophy and Papilledema

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Albert and Jakobiec's Principles and Practice of Ophthalmology

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Abstract

Optic atrophy is a misnomer. Although the term atrophy generally refers to physiologic involution or reduction in size, optic atrophy refers to cell death. In particular, optic atrophy represents the permanent loss of retinal ganglion cell axons in conjunction with retinal ganglion cell death. Optic atrophy should not be considered a diagnosis; it is a pathologic endpoint that is clinically discernible but does not imply cause. Optic atrophy may be from injury of the optic nerve head; however because of anterograde and retrograde degeneration, it may reflect upstream injury of the retinal ganglion cells or downstream injury of the posterior optic nerve, optic chiasm, or optic tract. Optic atrophy has been divided into primary and secondary varieties, and the distinction between them may have diagnostic value.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Rustum Karanjia & Alfredo A. Sadun

  2. Doheny Eye Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Rustum Karanjia & Alfredo A. Sadun

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Rustum Karanjia

  4. The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Rustum Karanjia

Authors
  1. Rustum Karanjia
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  2. Alfredo A. Sadun
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Oregon Health & Science University Department of Ophthalmology, Portland, OR, USA

    Daniel Albert

  2. Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, MA, USA

    Joan Miller

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Ophthalmology, Chicago, IL, USA

    Dimitri Azar

  4. Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Lucy H. Young

Section Editor information

  1. McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    Leonard Levin

  2. Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, USA

    Dean Cestari

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Karanjia, R., Sadun, A.A. (2021). Optic Atrophy and Papilledema. In: Albert, D., Miller, J., Azar, D., Young, L.H. (eds) Albert and Jakobiec's Principles and Practice of Ophthalmology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90495-5_41-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90495-5_41-1

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