Papilloedema

This article is best viewed in a PDF Format.

View PDF

View PDF

Papilloedema is defined as 'swelling of the optic nerve head secondary to raised intracranial pressure' (RICP). (When intracranial pressure is not raised, the appropriate term is 'disc swelling' or 'disc oedema'.)

Although the mechanism is imperfectly understood, experiments suggest that RICP is transmitted through the optic nerve sheath, compressing nerve fibres particularly at the lamina cribosa, where the optic nerve passes through the sclera. This impairs intracellular transport within nerve axons (axoplasmic stasis) resulting in leakage and swelling, vascular obstruction and dilatation, and eventual retinal and optic nerve ischaemia.