A medical condition where someone gradually loses vision, usually due to disease affecting the optic nerve or brain rather than the eye itself.
From Greek 'amauros' meaning 'dim' or 'dark,' plus '-osis' indicating a medical condition. The term has been used in medicine since the 1600s to describe mysterious vision loss.
Doctors loved this word because it let them describe vision loss they couldn't explain—so 'amaurosis fugax' literally means your vision temporarily 'goes dark' for a few minutes, which can actually signal a dangerous mini-stroke.
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