Your visual field is how wide of an area your eye can see when you focus on a point. In terms of its examination, we distinguish between central and peripheral fields.

The peripheral visual field helps you to navigate. Although peripheral vision is not capable of distinguishing fine details, it perceives movement and, to some extent, colors. The central field allows for sharp vision, facial recognition, and color .

Visual field loss is a condition associated with a decrease in the patient’s vision due to damage to the visual tract. Visual field loss can occur both on the periphery and near the center of vision. In the case of central visual field loss, the patient may not notice anything of it because the loss of vision in one eye is compensated by the other eye due to the overlapping visual fields of the two eyes.

Larger visual field loss (when the visual field is significantly narrowed compared to the healthy one) can usually be caused by various hereditary atrophic diseases of the optic nerve or cataracts.

During the visual field examination, we examine the eyes with a special perimetry test. We examine the area that the patient sees with both eyes when his head is upright and motionless.

In doing so, we measure the extent of the loss of vision, if any, by covering the eyes individually.

Other than an ophthalmologist, the examination may be requested by a neurologist in case a patient is suffering from chronic headaches, or by an endocrinologist if a hormonal lesion affecting the pituitary gland is suspected.