What Is a Visual Field Defect?
Unless a person is blind, she should be able to see a certain amount of her surroundings. There are standards regarding this ability that are considered normal. Those standards are referred to as a field of vision, or visual field. When a person’s ability to see her surroundings does not meet the standards, she can be diagnosed with a visual field defect. Such a condition could be caused by glaucoma, macular disease, or an aneurysm. To understand what a visual field defect is, it may be helpful to think of a view as it is seen through binoculars. The two circular areas that are shown can be considered the visual field. A person’s visual field should include the ability to see a certain amount vertically and horizontally. A field vision defect could, in this case, be diagnosed if some part of the visual field is blocked.
