Pathophysiology of Acute Vision Loss Acute loss of vision has 3 general causes: Opacification of normally transparent structures through which light rays pass to reach the retina (eg, cornea, vitreous) Retinal abnormalities Abnormalities affecting the optic nerve or visual pathways Etiology of Acute Vision Loss The most common causes of acute loss of vision are Vascular occlusions of the retina (central retinal artery occlusion, central retinal vein occlusion) Ischemic optic neuropathy (often in patients with temporal arteritis) Vitreous hemorrhage (caused by diabetic retinopathy or trauma) Trauma In addition, sudden recognition of loss of vision (pseudo-sudden loss of vision) may manifest initially as sudden onset.