[Sudden blindness].

Blindness means no light perception. In that case one observes a fixed dilated pupil. An unilateral amaurosis of sudden onset is caused either by an ocular or an optic nerve condition. The most common causes are: --occlusion of the central retinal artery --apoplexy of the papilla --traumatic lesions to the optic nerve Bilateral blindness occurring suddenly is for anatomic reasons due to a chiasmatic lesion. It is mainly associated with pituitary apoplexy. More commonly bilateral blindness develops sequentially and may be discovered only after the second event. Besides other ocular diseases bilateral occipital brain infarction has to be considered.