👁️ Special Senses🟢 BasicRetina

Retinitis Pigmentosa

An inherited disease in which the light-sensing cells of the retina slowly die, causing night blindness and shrinking vision.

Key points

Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of inherited disorders in which the rod and cone cells of the retina slowly degenerate.
The rods are affected first, so the earliest symptom is difficulty seeing in dim light, known as night blindness.
The field of vision then narrows from the sides inward, leaving tunnel vision in advanced disease.
The back of the eye shows spidery clumps of pigment (bone-spicule pigmentation), pale optic discs and thin vessels.
It can occur alone or as part of a syndrome, and it is a leading inherited cause of visual loss.

Memory trick

Retinitis pigmentosa is an inherited rod-then-cone degeneration: night blindness first, then tunnel vision; the fundus shows bone-spicule pigment, a pale disc and thin vessels; a leading inherited cause of sight loss.

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👁️ Special Senses🟢 BasicRetina

Retinitis Pigmentosa

An inherited disease in which the light-sensing cells of the retina slowly die, causing night blindness and shrinking vision.

Key points

Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of inherited disorders in which the rod and cone cells of the retina slowly degenerate.
The rods are affected first, so the earliest symptom is difficulty seeing in dim light, known as night blindness.
The field of vision then narrows from the sides inward, leaving tunnel vision in advanced disease.
The back of the eye shows spidery clumps of pigment (bone-spicule pigmentation), pale optic discs and thin vessels.
It can occur alone or as part of a syndrome, and it is a leading inherited cause of visual loss.

Memory trick

All of Ophthalmology More Special Senses