Amaurosis
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
This article defines amaurosis as total blindness, either congenital or acquired, and distinguishes it from amblyopia. It discusses the causes, the role of optic nerve atrophy, and the decline of the term's usage in medical literature.
Encyclopedia entry (1928–1936)
AMAUROSIS (from Greek amauros-dark), blindness, in the broad sense means total blindness from any cause, in the narrower sense-only blindness that has arisen as a consequence of disease of the eye's visual-nervous apparatus or of brain centers. According to Walter's definition, A. is such a state, "when the patient sees nothing and the doctor also sees nothing". A. can be congenital, and in this case atrophy of the optic nerve always occurs. As an initial form of A. one can consider various forms of amblyopia (see). Therefore, everything that causes amblyopia can also lead to A. With the course of the disease in amblyopia and in A. objectively determinable causes may be revealed. As knowledge and research methods develop, the term A. is used less and less.
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“Amaurosis.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.pages.dev/article/amaurosis/