Texas Medical Assistant Certification Practice Test

What does achromatic vision disorder entail?

1. The inability to distinguish between red and green.

2. The complete inability to see any color, only black, white, and gray.

3. A condition where sounds are perceived as colors.

4. Seeing only shades of purple and blue.

The correct answer is: The complete inability to see any color, only black, white, and gray.

Achromatic vision disorder refers to a condition where an individual has lost the ability to perceive any color at all, resulting in the vision of only black, white, and shades of gray. This disorder is also known as total color blindness. The absence of color perception can significantly affect daily activities, as the individual relies on variations in light and shadow to interpret their surroundings, rather than the rich tapestry of colors that most people experience. In this context, while many color vision disorders exist, such as red-green color blindness, achromatopsia specifically leads to a complete lack of color discrimination, ruling out any perception of colors like red, green, purple, or blue. The idea that sounds are perceived as colors relates to a completely different phenomenon known as synesthesia, which does not pertain to vision disorders. Hence, the correct understanding of achromatic vision disorder lies in recognizing it as a total absence of color perception.