Introduction to Retinitis Pigmentosa

This chapter serves as an introduction to retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The term “retinitis pigmentosa” is generally attributed to Donders in 1855 and 1857, though evidence for its existence presumably dates back earlier to 1744 when Ovelgun reported cases of familial night blindness. RP is a spectrum, or a group of genetically determined degenerations characterized by rod dysfunction leading to cone loss. An estimated two million individuals worldwide are estimated to suffer from the disease. It is the leading cause of inherited blindness.