In the last few years ophthalmologists have become increasingly aware of the frequent association of congenital pits of the optic nerve head (also known as crater-like holes of the optic nerve head) with various macular lesions. This association seems to be more widely recognized in Europe than in the United States; certainly the European literature is replete with accounts of this entity. Macular abnormalities reported in individ with pits of the optic nerve head have included central serous retinopathy, macular edema, macular cyst, macular hole, andmacular hemorrhage. Undoubtedly these different manifestations are merely variations, in either duration or severity, of the same basic process.
While the term "central serous retinopathy" has been used to denote the fullblown macular lesion, it appears more satisfactory to characterize the lesion as serous detachment of the macula. Although the pits are congenital, they usuallycause no symptoms. The macular lesion characteristically does riot develop until