2020–2021 BCSC Basic and Clinical Science Course™
6 Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
Part I: Strabismus
Chapter 6: Amblyopia
Amblyopia is a unilateral or, less commonly, bilateral reduction of best-corrected visual acuity (also referred to as corrected distance visual acuity) that cannot be attributed directly to the effect of any structural abnormality of the eye or visual pathways. Amblyopia signifies a failure of normal neural development in the immature visual system (see Chapter 5) and is caused by abnormal visual experience early in life resulting from one or a combination of the following:
Epidemiology
Amblyopia is responsible for more cases of childhood-onset unilateral decreased vision than all other causes combined, with a prevalence of 2%–4% in North America. It is also the most common cause of unilateral visual impairment in adults younger than 60 years. Amblyopia prevalence is increased in the setting of prematurity, developmental delay, or family history of amblyopia.
Excerpted from BCSC 2020-2021 series: Section 10 - Glaucoma. For more information and to purchase the entire series, please visit https://www.aao.org/bcsc.