Optic atrophy. Ophthalmoscope view of the retina of a patient suffering from optic atrophy: degen- eration of the optic nerve. The bright circle is the optic disc, where the optic nerve and blood vessels (red) enter the retina. This optic disc is abnormally light and has whitened in the centre, indicating optic atrophy. The dark spot to the right is the macula, a depression in the retina containing the highly sensitive fovea, which forms the central focus of human vision. Optic atrophy can cause partial or complete loss of vision. It has several different causes and is often related to multiple sclerosis. In this patient it was caused by meningitis during childhood.