retinitis pigmentosa

[ pig-men-toh-suh, -muhn- ]

nounOphthalmology.
  1. degeneration of the retina manifested by night blindness and gradual loss of peripheral vision, eventually resulting in tunnel vision or total blindness.

Origin of retinitis pigmentosa

1
1860–65; <New Latin: pigmentary retinitis. See pigment, -ose1

Words Nearby retinitis pigmentosa

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use retinitis pigmentosa in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for retinitis pigmentosa

retinitis pigmentosa

/ (ˌpɪɡmənˈtəʊsə) /


noun
  1. a degenerative hereditary disease of the human eye, characterized by pigmentary changes in the retina, night blindness, and eventual loss of vision

Origin of retinitis pigmentosa

1
C19: pigmentosa, feminine of Latin pigmentosus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for retinitis pigmentosa

retinitis pigmentosa

[ rĕt′n-ītĭs pĭg′mĕn-tō ]


  1. A hereditary degenerative disease of the retina, characterized by difficulty seeing at night, pigmentary changes within the retina, and eventual loss of vision.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.