Hemianopia is defined as which of the following?

• A. Blindness in one half of the visual field of one eye
• B. Color blindness
• C. Blindness in one half of the visual field of one or both eyes
• D. Total blindness

Answer: (C)

Hemianopia means losing half of the visual field. It’s about field loss, not color or total blindness. Depending on where the damage is along the visual pathway, that half-field loss can show up in one eye or in both eyes. So describing it as blindness in one half of the visual field of one or both eyes best matches the concept. Color blindness and total blindness describe different problems and aren’t what hemianopia refers to.