Which description best characterizes optic disc pallor?

Which description best characterizes optic disc pallor?

• A. Optic disc edema
• B. Optic disc pallor
• C. Cup-to-disc ratio increase
• D. Papilledema

Answer: (B)

Optic disc pallor is a pale appearance of the optic nerve head caused by loss of neural tissue from optic nerve atrophy. When axons die and the retinal nerve fiber layer thins, the disc loses its normal pinkish color and becomes pale. This is a sign of past or chronic damage to the nerve, not an active swelling. The correct description is the one that states the disc is pale, reflecting pallor. Other choices describe conditions that look different: optic disc edema and papilledema involve swelling and red-to-pink, not pale, discs; and an increased cup-to-disc ratio describes cupping from glaucoma, which is about tissue loss but presents as a cupped, not pale, disc.

Optic disc pallor is a pale appearance of the optic nerve head caused by loss of neural tissue from optic nerve atrophy. When axons die and the retinal nerve fiber layer thins, the disc loses its normal pinkish color and becomes pale. This is a sign of past or chronic damage to the nerve, not an active swelling.

The correct description is the one that states the disc is pale, reflecting pallor. Other choices describe conditions that look different: optic disc edema and papilledema involve swelling and red-to-pink, not pale, discs; and an increased cup-to-disc ratio describes cupping from glaucoma, which is about tissue loss but presents as a cupped, not pale, disc.