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Arch Ophthalmol. 2000;118:575-576.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Glaucoma destroys the ganglion cell axons in the retina and may produce localized and/or diffuse damage of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL). Unlike diffuse damage, localized defects are easy to detect. At the location of the RNFL defect the normal striated pattern of RNFL disappears and the localized defect is well outlined against the surrounding healthy nerve fiber bundles.¹ Although single or multiple slitlike defects are probably not a sign of abnormality, they may sometimes be misinterpreted as a localized RNFL defect. This study demonstrates another RNFL finding to be differentiated from a true localized RNFL defect, ie, what we call a "pseudodefect" of the RNFL.

Report of Cases

When routine RNFL photographs were examined, pseudodefects were detected in a total of 13 patients (Figure 1). Four patients were found during glaucoma screening and no information was available from the Finnish Glaucoma Patient Association. The remaining 9 patients (7 female . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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Reprints: Anja Tuulonen, MD, PhD, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Oulu, FIN-90220 Oulu, Finland (e-mail: anja.tuulonen@oulu.fi).