Visual hallucinations. Clinical occurrence and use in differential diagnosis.

Visual hallucinations occur in diverse clinical circumstances including ophthalmologic diseases, neurologic disorders, toxic and metabolic disorders and idiopathic psychiatric illnesses. Their content, duration and timing relate to their cause and provide useful differential diagnostic information. Hallucinations must be distinguished from delusions and confabulation. A systematic approach to differentiating among hallucinatory syndromes may improve diagnostic accuracy.