amaurosis /am′ôrō″sis/ [Gk, amauroein, to darken] , blindness, especially lack of vision resulting from a systemic cause such as disease of the optic nerve or brain, diabetes, renal disease, acute gastritis, or systemic poisoning produced by excessive use of alcohol or tobacco, rather than from damage to the eye itself. Unilateral or, more rarely, bilateral amaurosis may follow an emotional shock and may continue for days or months. One kind of congenital amaurosis is transmitted as an autosomal-recessive trait. −amaurotic, adj.
