Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Total loss of vision, especially when occurring without pathological changes to the eye.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A partial or total loss of sight independent of any discoverable lesion in the eye itself: formerly and still sometimes called gutta, serena; by Milton “a drop serene,” P. L., iii. 25.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Med.) A loss or decay of sight, from loss of power in the optic nerve, without any perceptible external change in the eye; -- called also gutta serena, the “drop serene” of Milton.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any form of blindness that is accompanied to no obvious change to the eye; often the result of disease of the optic nerve

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun partial or total loss of sight without pathology of the eye; caused by disease of optic nerve or retina or brain

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Greek amaurōsis, from amauroun, to make dim, from amauros, dark.]

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Examples

  • So, too, I said I would treat a negative disease, such as amaurosis or torpidity of liver, with the negative pole, placing the positive pole on either some healthy or morbidly positive part.

    A Newly Discovered System of Electrical Medication Daniel Clark

  • In 'amaurosis', the eye is beautifully clear, and, for a little while, this clearness imposes upon the casual observer; but there is a peculiar pellucid appearance about the eye -- a preternatural and unchanging brightness.

    The Dog William Youatt 1811

  • Haas was born with a kind of degenerative blindness called Leber's congenital amaurosis.

    Science Question From a Toddler: What do blind people see? Boing Boing 2009

  • Susan Robinson, chief executive officer of Seattle-based Targeted Genetics Corp., which is involved in an ongoing gene-therapy trial in Britain for Leber's congenital amaurosis.

    Study Shows Hope for Gene Therapy 2010

  • Last fall, a team led by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine reported they had successfully injected a gene via a genetically engineered vector into the retinas of 12 patients suffering from a blindness-causing genetic disease called Leber's congenital amaurosis.

    Study Shows Hope for Gene Therapy 2010

  • About 2,000 people in the U.S. have Leber's congenital amaurosis No. 2, caused when a child inherits a certain flawed gene from both parents.

    Gene Holds Hope for a Blindness Cure 2008

  • Although the patients had a rare form of blindness called Leber's congenital amaurosis, researchers believe the approach can ultimately be used for a broad spectrum of disorders, including retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration.

    Berkshire Helps Concoct 2008

  • There has been a lot of ink recently about a new study where researchers used gene therapy to restore sight to patients suffering from a rare form of congenital blindness known as Leber congenital amaurosis.

    Material World: April 2008 Tracy Staedter 2008

  • There has been a lot of ink recently about a new study where researchers used gene therapy to restore sight to patients suffering from a rare form of congenital blindness known as Leber congenital amaurosis.

    Material World: Gene Therapy Restores Sight Eric Bland 2008

  • But suppose I do what nearly all of the doctors do, who use electricity with any regard to polarity; that is, if treating acutely inflamed eyes, for example, apply the negative pole to the eyes, thinking thereby to make them more negative; or, if treating amaurosis, apply the positive electrode to the affected parts, thinking thereby to make them more positive!

    A Newly Discovered System of Electrical Medication Daniel Clark

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