What does homonymous hemianopia describe?

Homonymous hemianopia refers to a specific type of visual field loss where a person lacks vision in the same field of vision in both eyes. This means that if the visual loss occurs on the right side, the patient would have difficulty seeing objects to their right side with both eyes, resulting in a right homonymous hemianopia. This condition typically arises as a result of damage to the neural pathways in the brain that process visual information, often due to strokes, tumors, or injuries affecting the occipital lobe or optic tracts.

The other options describe different visual impairments or conditions that do not align with the definition of homonymous hemianopia. For example, blindness in both eyes typically indicates complete vision loss rather than a specific loss in one visual field, and defective vision in one eye refers to vision issues that are unilateral rather than affecting both eyes simultaneously. Additionally, vision impairment that does not affect the field can involve various issues without meaning a specific loss of peripheral vision, which also does not correlate with the concept of homonymous hemianopia.