Skip to main content
hemianopia

hemianopia

1 9.9
Loss of vision on one side of what you can see in one or both eyes
  • noun
  • /ˌhɛmɪəˈnoʊpiə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : hemianopía
  • Mirrors and binocular sector prisms have been advocated by low vision practitioners for individuals with hemianopia, which is the loss of half the visual field in both eyes.
  • hemianopia in the visual field

Examples

  • PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Table 3: Patterns of abnormal visual field in 55 affected eyes. (BTH: bitemporal hemianopia, TFD: temporal field defect)

    Academic text (2007)
  • Field defects, whether they are due to retinal disease or even to hemianopia, do not affect visual acuity unless they also affect the fovea.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Yet, one cannot detect any boundary, except in cases of hemianopia.

    Academic text (2009)
  • Ten weeks after diagnosis we observe hemianopia... ...with transient horizontal nystagmus.

  • Many states in the United States allow individuals with hemianopia to continue to drive upon completion of specific driving and vision evaluations (Peli, 2002).

    Academic text (2008)
  • Perceived visual phenomena include: scintillations, fortification spectra, zig-zag crescents, scotoma, hemianopia.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The patient must have a corrected visual acuity in his or her best eye of 20/70 or worse, or have a documented central scotoma, a general constriction of the visual fields, or bilateral hemianopia.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Visual field abnormality was detected in 55 eyes of 29 patients (44.4%), and bitemporal hemianopia was the striking abnormal VF in 19 patients (69%).

    Academic text (2007)
  • Cerebral visual impairments include sensory functions, such as visual acuity (amblyopia), field (hemianopia), and motion perception, as well as oculomotor functions, such as "fix and follow."

    Academic text (2009)
  • After her stroke, she was diagnosed with hemianopia, which made it difficult for her to see on the left side.

Synonyms

hemianopsia
vshemianopia
  • Specialized
9.9

A loss of sight in one half of the field of vision of one or both eyes

is the alternate spelling used in some sources
hemianopic scotoma
vshemianopia
  • Specialized
9.9

A blind area that affects one side of the field of vision, often after brain damage

describes general loss across the half visual field rather than a spot

How Severe

blindness
70 3.1
hemianopia
  • Specialized
1 9.9
scotoma
  • Specialized
1 9.9
blind spot
  • Specialized
1 4.8

Surface Forms

hemianopia singular
hemianopias plural

Morphology

hemianopia = anopia (semi-transparent) = hemi + anopia

Formally 'hemi-' (half) + 'anopia' (visual field loss) yields the literal meaning 'half blindness', but both elements are technical Greek medical forms unfamiliar to average learners.

Etymology

Hemianopia comes from Greek parts: hemi- meaning 'half', like in hemisphere, and -anopia meaning 'no sight' (you can see this idea in words like myopia). So, hemianopia is loss of vision in one half of what you can see.