Arsanilic acid-induced blindness in swine: electroretinographic and visually evoked responses.

Arsanilic acid (1,000 ppm) caused blindness in pigs within 25 to 30 days. The visually evoked response was "nonrecordable" in blind pigs, but was consistently recordable in normal pigs. The electroretinographic response was recordable in both normal and blind pigs, and significant differences were not apparent between results of tests of the 2 groups. Optic disk atrophy was noted ophthalmoscopically; lesions of the optic nerve are probably responsible for the nonrecordable visually evoked response.