[Paraneoplastic optochiasmatic arachnoiditis (author's transl)].

It has been established that trauma and infection are the most important causes of "optochiasmatic" arachnoiditis. Only a few cases have been reported in the literature of collateral optochiasmatic arachnoiditis caused by tumors. Two cases of craniopharyngioma with collateral optochiasmatic arachnoiditis are described here. The following was deduced: 1) atypical complex visual field defects in which the exact location of the tumor is known may be caused--at least partially--by a collateral optochiasmatic arachnoiditis 2) whenever optochiasmatic arachnoiditis is suspected a tumor as a possible cause should be ruled out.