The Encyclopedia of Blindness and Vision Impairment (Facts on File Library of Health and Living)

353 Pages·2002·1.15 MB·English

by  Susan Shelly, Allan Richard, M.D. Rutzen, Scott M., M.D. Steidl, Jill Sardegna

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
BLINDNESS AND
VISION IMPAIRMENT
Second Edition
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
BLINDNESS AND
VISION IMPAIRMENT
Second Edition
Jill Sardegna; Susan Shelly;
Allan Richard Rutzen, M.D.;
Scott M. Steidl, M.D., D.M.A.
The Encyclopedia of Blindness and Vision Impairment, Second Edition
Copyright © 2002 by Jill Sardegna
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, elec-
tronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval sys-
tems, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information contact:
Facts On File, Inc.
132 West 31st Street
New York NY 10001
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The encyclopedia of blindness and vision impairment / Jill Sardegna . . . [et al.].—2nd ed.
p. cm. — (The Facts on File library of health and living)
First ed. cataloged under the m.e.: Sardegna, Jill according to AACR2.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8160-4280-2 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Blindness—Dictionaries. 2. Blind, Apparatus for the—Dictionaries.
3. Vision disorders—Dictionaries. 4. Visually handicapped—Dictionaries. I. Sardegna, Jill. II. Series.
[DNLM: 1. Vision Disorders—encyclopedias.]
RE91 .S27 2002
362.4’1’03—dc21 2001055653
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Text and cover design by Cathy Rincon
Printed in the United States of America
VB FOF 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
For
Emily and Jack
and
Mary and Julius
h
To Ann,
For the flowers in my life
CONTENTS
Preface to the First Edition ix
Preface to the Second Edition xi
Acknowledgments xiii
Entries A–Z 1
Appendixes 271
Bibliography 311
Index 325
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
he Encyclopedia of Blindness and Vision Impairment is however, will prove useful as a basic guide and can
Tthe first A-to-Z compendium on the subject of serve as a reference to other sources of informa-
blindness and its inherent issues and topics. In more tion. This volume includes a brief list of references
than 500 entries, the volume encompasses all aspects at the end of each main article and a substantial
of blindness, including health issues, surgery and bibliography.
medications, social issues, myths and misconceptions, In an effort to maximize limited space, we have
economic issues, education, adaptive aids, and organi- occasionally attempted to save words by using the
zations. phrase “the blind” rather than more ideal alterna-
The encyclopedia can be of use to both the pro- tives such as “blind individuals” or “people who are
fessional and lay person. For the lay person, we blind.” In a similar manner, the pronoun “he”
have tried to cover the issue with a minimum of appears in place of “he or she.”
technical jargon while accurately presenting the We have taken care to avoid significant errors of
facts. Though not intended as a diagnostic tool, the fact or interpretation. We accept, however, that in
text provides basic information to enable the user a volume of this scope and length, minor errors
to make informed decisions with the help of his may have inadvertently been included. Changing
physician. statistics and daily medical breakthroughs may ren-
For the professional we have been thorough and der the described current treatments and tech-
avoided the simplistic, providing a handy guide niques outdated. We intend to remain current in
covering aspects of vision impairment that may fall the field and update the information in future edi-
outside the particular individual’s expertise. tions.
We understand that a volume of this limited size
may not meet every need of all who use it. Because —Jill Sardegna
of the concise format, we may have failed to San Jose, California
include entries needed by some individuals or —T. Otis Paul, M.D.
given other entries limited treatment. The book, San Francisco, California
ix